


A Time To Fight

by someofthissomeofthat11011



Series: Make My Own Life [3]
Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 04:00:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 48,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1331131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someofthissomeofthat11011/pseuds/someofthissomeofthat11011
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose is back in school. There are several changes being implemented at St. Vladimir's Academy. When an unexpected person turns up and the strigoi attacks are getting closer to St. Vlad's, Rose and Dimitri have their hands full.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY

Rose's Point of View

Today was the day. We are going back to St. Vladimir's today. I know Lissa was nervous. She went to a very small school for moroi back in Indiana. Now she would be attending a large school that has a lot of male dhampirs and a lot of moroi.

And she wasn't only worried for herself. She was worried for me. The population of St. Vladimir's is tripling. That's a lot more people I have to be careful around. Not to mention the number of people who know I'm a girl have increased.

Now Eddie, Jill, and Mia know I'm a girl and they all attend St. Vladimir's. I still haven't had the chance to talk to Eddie. I saw him briefly and he just promised to keep my secret. I want him to understand why I do this. Jill and Mia are different. We've talked a lot. Jill and Mia both understand and respect what I do. Both of them disagree with Tatiana about the whole girls can't fight thing and the whole moroi can't fight thing.

We've been working together to figure out ways to use their magic offensively. Mia's magic saved me once. Maybe she could do it again.

Despite the added risk, I was excited to go back to school. School was a place where I could train again. School was a place where I would get to have sex with Dimitri and not have to worry that Lissa was going to bang on the wall and tell us to keep it down. More importantly, school was the place where I would get closer to becoming a guardian.

Lissa's stuff was packed into about eighty suitcases. Mine was in three. Dimitri and I had carefully discussed living arrangements at St. Vladimirs. Luckily, Dimitri was assigned to the same hallway that me and Christian were assigned to. It wasn't the same one as last year, but it was the same set up. Unlike last year when all dhampirs were spread out by year, we were all be crammed into one dorm now. Most of the rooms used to be empty and now every single one of them is filled. Construction was being done to build more dorms, but for now this is how it has to be.

Dimitri and I decided that after an entire summer of sharing the same bed, we really didn't want to go back to have separate rooms. I would put some clothes and some stuff in the room I share with Christian, just for appearances, but the stuff I actually need, will go in Dimitri's dorm.

We loaded up Dimitri's car with all of our stuff. If Lissa weren't with us, our stuff would have fit fine, but with Lissa's added luggage, Dimitri, Christian, and I had to be extremely creative to figure out how to fit all the stuff.

It took a while, but after about thirty minutes of rearranging, we were off to St. Vladimirs. When we got there, I was heavily disguised. I was in one of Dimitri's hoodies and I was wearing large sunglasses. After we dropped off our stuff and left Lissa and Christian to unpack, Dimitri and I left campus.

Dimitri took me to the barber, where I had to get my hair buzzed again. I watched it fall to the ground. I couldn't wait for the day where haircuts like this wouldn't be necessary.

After I got that done, Dimitri took me to the convenient store so I could pick up some more wrap to hide my curves.

I also had to get some more clothes. It was a relatively short trip. When we went out to lunch, I went into the boy's bathroom and became a boy. I was ready to go back to school.

I ate lunch, but I didn't really taste it. I hated the secrecy and lies that going to school entailed, but in the end, I knew it would be worth it.

Dimitri paid and we drove back to the Academy in silence. In the darkness of the parking garage, I gave Dimitri one final kiss before we parted ways. I headed to my hallway to meet my floor-mates and Dimitri was off to some sort of meeting.

When I got to my hallway, I wasn't surprised to see Christian talking to someone. What I was surprised to see was that that someone was Eddie. "Eddie?" I asked.

He smiled when he saw me. "Hi Robert," he told me. We man-hugged and he told us about how he had his own room. He was supposed to room with Mason and they didn't have anyone to fill Mason's spot, so he got his own room.

"Rosie, looks like we only have one neighbor," he said, shooting me a meaningful glance.

"Oh good Chrissie. Less people to notice how weird you are," I teased him. I got the message. Eddie is our neighbor. We were almost at the end of the hallway, so my continued absence would be less noticeable. We don't have a whole lot of neighbors.

The room on the other side of us was Dimitri's room. Because he was staff, his room was large with a bathroom and kitchen area in it. It was set up more like a suite than a bedroom. His room was technically next to ours, but because his shower and kitchen area line our room, we would have more privacy.

Eddie glanced at me. "Any chance we can talk Robert?" he asked me.

I hesitated then nodded. He motioned to his room and I followed, closing the door behind me.

"You know Rose, we really haven't had a chance to talk," he told me with a sigh.

"I know," I told him. I sat down in the chair, trying to mentally prepare myself for what's to come.

"I miss him, ya know," Eddie said, looking out the window. "He was my best friend. We grew up together."

I gulped. He was talking about Mason. "I'm sorry Eddie. I wish there was something I could have done. Some way I could have saved him," I told him.

He shook his head. "There was nothing you could have done," he told me. "Mason made his choice." Eddie hesitated then turned to look at me. "What I'm about to say… I'm not saying it to make you feel guilty. I think you have a right to know. it's about how Mason felt for you. Do you want to hear it?"

I considered his question carefully. Then I realized that I had to hear it. Out of respect for Mason. He died to protect me. The least I could do is listen to Eddie. "I don't want to, but I have to," I said quietly.

Eddie nodded. He understood. "At first, Mason tried to convince himself it was nothing," Eddie told me. "He would come back to our dorm angry and just talk about it. Try to say he was imagining it. But when you got into that fight with Christian? That day we were running?" I tried to figure out what day he was talking about. Then I realized. That was the day Dimitri found out I was a girl. I nodded to show him I knew what day he was referring to. "That's when he realized he truly cared for you. I want you to know Rose, Mason would rather die a thousand times then see you dead."

Surprisingly, Eddie's words went a long way to comfort me. "I always thought of Mason as one of my best friends here," I told him. "Other than Christian, you and him were my only friends."

"Dimitri?" Eddie asked.

"He's never been just a friend to me," I told him.

Eddie nodded. "I understand," he told me. The way he said it, made me think that he found someone he thought of in the same way.

"Who's the lucky lady?" I teased him.

He blushed and rolled his eyes. "Mind your own business," he said, punching me jokingly.

I chuckled. I'm glad I have Eddie as a friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Dimitri's Point of View

I looked at Rose worriedly. She was taking this well, too well. It almost made me think she wasn't really taking this seriously. I had tried again and again to tell her how much more dangerous St. Vladimir's would be this year. The population at St. Vladimir's has tripled and that's not even included all the extra staff. They've hired over fifty moroi and dhampirs so they will have more people to teach classes and help guard the campus. But Rose doesn't seem to care. I was so worried that she would become careless and slip up.

I was momentarily distracted as we had to move around suitcases to get all of Lissa's stuff to fit. How one person could have so much luggage was beyond my understanding. It took the combined creativity of me, Christian, and Rose to figure out how to fit twenty people's worth of luggage in a car that fit four people. In the end, we managed. And then we were off to St. Vladimir's.

I forced myself to concentrate on the road. I wasn't always successful. I alternated between looking at the road and shooting worried glances towards Rose. I knew she was excited to go back, but I wished she would have shown a little more caution.

When we were a few minutes away from campus, Rose pulled on one of my old hoodies and put on a pair of sunglasses. To someone who didn't know she was wearing a disguise, she would be entirely unrecognizable. Maybe she is taking this more serious than she is letting on. I felt myself silently let out a sigh of relief. I should have had more faith in her.

We were only on campus long enough to unload the car and drop off the suitcases before me and Rose left to transform her back into a man.

The first place we went was the barber. Her hair had grown several inches in the last year. While she was able to get away without cutting her hair during the school year, it would look strange if she went back to school with hair that long.

I saw Rose flinch as the first strands of hair fell to the ground. In that brief moment, she looked vulnerable. But the moment passed quickly and she composed her face into the blank guardian mask she had practiced. I knew how much this killed her. I hated to see her hair go. Her hair was so soft and smooth, but she didn't need it. She was just as beautiful without hair as she was with it.

Once Rose's hair was gone, we went to a convenient store. Rose needed some wrap to hide her curves. I wish she didn't have to wear it. Some scenarios went through my head of me helping her unwrap herself and suddenly the wrap didn't seem like such a bad idea.

After we got the wrap, we went to a store in the mall. It's a good thing Rose has so much practice being a guy. She didn't spend hours picking out outfits like she had when she got clothes over the summer. She just grabbed some shirts, shorts, and pants and bought them.

Rose looked like reality was catching up with her. She didn't look miserable exactly, but she didn't look happy. I really couldn't blame her. She's going to a school where she can't even be herself. I wanted to do something to make her smile, so I took her out to lunch.

This gave her the opportunity to become a boy in the bathroom. Rose seemed distracted all through lunch and I knew why. She was scared.

I paid for lunch and then we went back to St. Vladimir's. I pulled into the parking garage and gave Rose one final kiss before we parted ways.

I wished I could stay by her side, but I had a meeting to go to. Rose already had my spare key so I know she would be able to sneak into my room later. That's one of the huge inconveniences of the new setup. Last year, there was a hallway and then a wall and a door and then a little hallway with the door to my room. We're in a different building this year, so now my room is in the same hallway as the novices. Rose wouldn't just be able to walk in, she would have to be really sneaky.

I walked into the office where we were having our meeting and took a seat in the back. We were in a really large room that was filled with seats. I wasn't surprised. This was the first time we were going to be together as a staff. When he talked to us over the summer, a majority of the staff attended a different meeting with Stan.

As people filtered in, I got an idea of just how many people Stan had hired this summer. I let myself zone out until someone cleared their throat at the front of the room. It was Headmaster Kirova.

"Welcome," he said in a deep booming voice. "We brought you here as one staff to discuss some of the changes that will be happening to the St. Vladimir's curriculum. We will explain the ones that impact both our teachers and our guardians and then you will split up based on whether you are a moroi or a dhampir and learn the specifics of your classes. Do you understand?"

I sighed. This was going to be an extremely long day. I listened to speech after speech about the importance of us developing professional relationships and working together. This is a team effort.

After headmaster Kirova had talked for well over an hour, it was Stan's turn. His spiel was worse than Evan's if that's possible. I don't think I've ever had to strain so hard to stay awake. Really how many different ways can you stress the importance of working together? I think we got the message. After Stan had talked to us for about an hour, he snapped all of us out of our bored haze and told us where we should go next. Moroi are meeting in the library. Newly hired guards are meeting in one of the rooms in the gym. Newly hired dhampir teachers are meeting in the moroi academic hall. And returning guardians are staying right where we are. I internally groaned. That meant I had a couple more hours of listening to Stan talk.

Four hours later, I finally was able to leave the conference hall. My head was literally full of information. Our responsibilities had significantly increased. In addition to a daily six hour shift, we have to guard moroi classes in the afternoon and each teach two guardian classes. I, in addition to that still have to give Rose extra practice before and after school.

I understand the need for the extra protection, but between the wards and the guards, I really don't think we need five guardians patrolling the borders at all times. But it's not my place to tell Stan he's being an idiot.

I went back to my room, eager to see Rose. If it had been a long day for me, I know it had been a long day for her. I grinned when I saw her sitting on my bed, skimming a magazine.

She looked up when she heard the door open and close. A huge smile spread across her face. She looked so beautiful and radiant when she smiled. She jumped out of bed and ran towards me. She wrapped her arms behind my neck and I leaned down to kiss her.

"How were the meetings?" She asked.

"Let's not talk about it," I suggested.

"Fair enough," she quickly agreed, crushing her lips to mine. We didn't need words for what we were going to do next.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose's Point of View

Dimitri was overreacting. I could see it every time he thought I wasn't looking. He was worried I was not taking this seriously. That I didn't realize how much more likely it was I would get caught.

What he doesn't realize is I am painstakingly aware of that. It is hard pretending to be a boy. I have a year of experience with it already. But coming back this year had been completely different. There are girls here now and it takes all of my self-control not to ask someone where they bought their shoes, because I want a pair. It takes all of my self-control to force myself to pretend to be a guy when the guys are talking about their latest conquests in the locker room. it's particularly awful when they're talking about Lissa.

Usually it is acceptable for me to just scowl at them. To the rest of the school, I am Lissa's cousin. But it doesn't make it easier. All I can say is thank God Lissa doesn't have a roommate. When Dimitri's still on duty, I spend hours complaining to her about what the boys say. They have gotten much, much worse since girls started coming to school.

It's difficult, but for weeks, I managed to suck it up.

Then something extremely unexpected happened. Lissa got a new roommate. I wasn't expecting it. We were almost half-way through the semester. Who goes to school half-way through the semester?

I was sitting on the spare bed in Lissa's room. We were talking about shoes, clothes, boys. Normal girl things. You can imagine my surprise when there was a knock on the door.

Lissa shared a confused look with me. The only person that ever visited her was Christian. And he never knocked.

I scurried off the bed, hiding in her closet. I had to resist the urge to chuckle when I realized I was acting like a teenage boy, evading his girlfriend's dad.

I heard Lissa's intake of breath. "Natalie," she said. It took all of my self-control not to storm out of the closet. Now that's something I never thought I would think. "What are you doing here?"

I listened intently. "I'm you're new roommate," Natalie said in her faked sweet voice. My eyes widened in the darkness of the closet.

"No," I whispered. This couldn't be happening. Plucking up my courage, I stormed out of the closet and ran from the room before Natalie could see me. She would recognize me in a heartbeat.

"Who was that?" I heard Natalie ask as I rounded the corner.

"That? Oh… that was my boyfriend Christian," Lissa lied. Let him know he was hiding in my closet, would you? Lissa sent through the bond.

I nodded, knowing it was necessary. I knocked on Christian's door and waited until he answered. I didn't say anything, just motioned for him to follow me before I went to Dimitri's room. I opened the door without knocking and barged in.

Dimitri was laying on his bed, reading a western. When I entered, he looked up. His happy expression faded to concern when he saw my face.

"Roza, what's wrong?" He asked. He looked behind me and saw Christian. "What's going on?"

"Why didn't you tell me that Natalie Dashkov will be attending St. Vladimir's Academy?" I asked Dimitri furiously.

"What?" Christian asked, shocked. "Natalie Dashkov is here?"

"She's Lissa's new roommate," I said through gritted teeth. "How could you let this happen?"

Dimitri furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I didn't think it mattered. You know her?" He asked, shooting a confused look between me and Christian.

"Yes, and you know her too," I told him, struggling to remain calm. I shouldn't take my anger out on Dimitri. I had mentioned it once briefly, nearly a year ago when we were talking about how we discovered that Lissa specialized in spirit. "Do you remember Victor?"

"The insane man that Lissa lived with right after her parents died," Dimitri said slowly, still not connecting the dots.

"Victor Dashkov," I said quietly. I waited. I knew he would make the connection. He's a smart person.

"What does that have to d–" Dimitri started to say. He cut himself off abruptly. "No, not his daughter."

I nodded. "Natalie Dashkov is was his evil, underage accomplice," I told him. I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Please say there is something you can do to fix this and make her leave."

"I have no say in the enrollment here," Dimitri said sadly. "Besides, I am sure nothing will happen. There are too many guardians here. It's not like Indiana."

"it might as well be," I muttered under my breath. "Dimitri, you don't know her. You don't realize what she's capable of. I felt it. I saw it through Lissa. Natalie manipulates and makes you doubt yourself, all along passing herself off as sweet and innocent."

"But you know better now," Dimitri said. "I know you Rose. You'll be able to handle Natalie. Besides, maybe now that she's no longer under her father's influence, she won't be so bad."

"So you're telling me that it's a good idea for Lissa to be roommates with her?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows. Even Dimitri, believer in second chances, couldn't possibly believe that was a good idea.

"Well, no," Dimitri admitted. He was deep in thought for a moment. "I really have no influence with stuff like that, but I can try. If I convince Stan that the last Dragomir Princess is in danger with Natalie in the same room, he might have them switch rooms."

I groaned. "Stan will never agree to that. He would have to stop being an egotistical asshole for five minutes for that to happen," I told him grumpily.

Dimitri looked at me sympathetically. "I'm sorry Roza. I'll try, I really will," he told me.

"I believe you," I told him sincerely. And I did believe him. I knew he was going to try, but I was almost certain it wasn't going to get us anywhere. I glanced a Christian, shooting him a look that said play along. He looked at me cluelessly. "Me and Christian have to go work on a project." I threw as much annoyance into that statement as possible.

"A project?" Dimitri asked, shocked.

"Yeah," I said grumpily. "This whole dhampirs have to take academic classes thing sucks!"

Dimitri chuckled, clearly believing my lie. "Oh Roza, what am I going to do with you?" He asked jokingly.

I winked at him. "I'll give you a couple of hours and you can let me know tonight," I told him seductively.

"Oh come on," Christian complained. "You couldn't even have given me a little bit of warning?"

"Pay back Chrissie," I told him with an evil grin.

"Pay back for what?" Christian asked, legitimately confused.

"All the times you wait until I'm asleep so my defenses are down to have sex with your girlfriend," I told him.

Christian flushed a deep red. "Didn't you say something about a project that we need to get started on?" He asked. "It's due tomorrow."

I chuckled. I walked over to Dimitri and kissed him lightly. "I'll see you later," I promised.

"Good luck," he said to me.

Christian and I exited his apartment. The moment we were through the threshold and the door closed behind me, Christian turned to me. "Project?" He asked.

"Not entirely a lie," I said with a shrug. "Just the school part."

Christian rolled his eyes. "So what's the plan?" He asked me.

"Plan?" I asked, playing dumb.

"The plan to get rid of Natalie," Christian told me.


	4. Chapter 4

Dimitri's Point of View

The weeks passed quickly. I always kept an eye on Rose. I couldn't shake my fear that she wasn't taking this seriously, that she was underestimating the danger she was in. the consequences if she was caught would be severe. Falsifying is one of the worst crimes, right under treason. I had intentionally not shared this information with Rose, because I didn't want to frighten her, but I'm starting to think that may not have been a wise decision.

I was lying on my bed, enjoying what little free time I had before Rose would get here. I knew Rose was talking to Lissa. I was just getting into my western when my door swung open.

I looked up, pleasantly surprised to see Rose. She usually stayed with Lissa for a couple of hours while they worked on homework and such. I felt a surge of worry as I took in the expression on her face.

"Roza, what's wrong?" I asked her. I shifted so I was sitting up in bed. Sitting up gave me a clearer view of the room and I was shocked when I saw Christian. Was he the one that upset her? "What's going on?"

"Why didn't you tell me that Natalie Dashkov will be attending St. Vladimir's Academy?" She asked me angrily.

"What?" Christian asked, shocked and angry. "Natalie Dashkov is here?"

"She's Lissa's new roommate," Rose said, fighting her anger. "How could you let this happen?"

I scrunched up my eyebrows, racking my brain. I briefly remember it being mentioned in a meeting that we would be accepting a new moroi student. I hadn't really thought it was important. It was standard that we were debriefed on all new students and I found myself wondering why Rose was reacting like this. "I didn't think it mattered. You know her?" I asked, looking back and forth between her and Christian. There was something else here, something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Yes, and you know her too," Rose told me. I struggled to think about how I could know her. I knew for sure that I had never met her and I couldn't remember Rose ever mentioning a Natalie. "Do you remember Victor?"

"The insane man that Lissa lived with right after her parents died," I told her slowly. I couldn't figure out where she was going with this. I could remember clearly the night she told me about Victor. How he slowly pushed Lissa closer to insanity. And how the man that held so much evil held so many answers. He was the one who told them about spirit.

"Victor Dashkov," Rose told me quietly, looking at me expectantly.

"What does that have to d–" I started to say. Then the truth dawned on me. Rose told me about his deranged daughter that would do anything for his attention and affection. Even aid in Lissa's destruction. She had only mentioned her name once, but Dimitri hadn't remembered it. Now he did. "No, not his daughter."

Rose nodded. "Natalie Dashkov was his evil, underage accomplice," she told me. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. I knew what was coming next. This was the part where Rose asks me to do the impossible and she knows it's a lost cause before she asks, but she does it anyway. "Please say there is something you can do to fix this and make her leave."

"I have no say in the enrollment here," I told her reluctantly. I hated seeing her so worried about Lissa, particularly when she had so much else to worry about in her own life. I needed to try if nothing else. "Besides, I am sure nothing will happen. There are too many guardians here. It's not like Indiana."

"It might as well be," Rose muttered. I don't think she realized I could hear her. "Dimitri, you don't know her. You don't realize what she's capable of. I felt it. I saw it through Lissa. Natalie manipulates and makes you doubt yourself, all along passing herself off as sweet and innocent."

"But you know better now," I told her soothingly. "I know you Rose. You'll be able to handle Natalie. Besides, maybe now that she's no longer under her father's influence, she won't be so bad."

"So you're telling me that it's a good idea for Lissa to be roommates with her?" Rose asked me. she sounded slightly victorious.

I sighed. "Well, no," I admitted. I didn't like this arrangement. I would have to try, but I knew it would be futile. Stan has the final say in everything. "I really have no influence with stuff like that, but I can try. If I convince Stan that the last Dragomir Princess is in danger with Natalie in the same room, he might have them switch rooms."

Rose groaned. "Stan will never agree to that. He would have to stop being an egotistical asshole for five minutes for that to happen," she grumbled. I knew she was unhappy about it, but there was truly nothing I could do.

I looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry Roza. I'll try, I really will," I told her. it was the only thing I could do for her and I was happy to do it.

"I believe you," she told me sincerely. I knew she wouldn't doubt my words, she only doubted the likelihood of my success. "Me and Christian have to go work on a project." I threw as much annoyance into that statement as possible.

"A project?" I asked her confused.

"Yeah," she said. She sounded like it was the worst thing in the world. "This whole dhampirs have to take academic classes thing sucks!"

I chuckled. Only Rose would see a downside in furthering her education to better protect her moroi. It was the actual learning. "Oh Roza, what am I going to do with you?" I teased her affectionately.

Rose winked at me. "I'll give you a couple of hours and you can let me know tonight," she told me. I had to suppress my groan.

"Oh come on," Christian complained. I looked at him shocked. I had honestly forgotten he was here. "You couldn't even have given me a little bit of warning?"

"Pay back Chrissie," Rose told him.

"Pay back for what?" Christian asked, legitimately confused.

"All the times you wait until I'm asleep so my defenses are down to have sex with your girlfriend," Rose told him. I had to bite back my laugh. I knew for a fact that Rose hated it, because every time it happened she woke me up and complained about it. It happened a lot.

Christian flushed a deep red. "Didn't you say something about a project that we need to get started on?" He asked. "It's due tomorrow."

Rose walked towards me and kissed me lightly. "I'll see you later," she promised.

"Good luck," I told her, squeezing her hand gently.

I watched Rose leave with an unsettling feeling in my stomach. She was up to something. I knew for a fact that she didn't have any projects, because I was in charge of guarding all of Lissa's classes and Rose was in all of Lissa's academic classes. I had to hope she would take me seriously and not do anything rash.

I left my room, immediately heading to Stan's office. I took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

"Come in," he called.

I opened the door and mentally prepared myself. I was trying to do the impossible.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose's Point of View

It was strange sitting on my bed. I very rarely was in here. Most of the time I was with Lissa and Christian either in Lissa's room, or the library. And when I wasn't in Lissa's room or the library, I was in Dimitri's room.

I have only been in the room the school assigned me too a handful of times. And now that I was here it felt foreign. It didn't feel like mine.

I looked at Christian's side of the room and how lived in it looked. He had pictures of him and Lissa from this summer on his walls. He also had some posters. There were dirty clothes on the floor and his bed wasn't made. Compared to his side, mine was bare and empty. It was almost sad. If anyone were to come in here, they wouldn't think someone lived in here, which could make people ask questions.

With that in mind, I pulled out some clothes that I had placed in my end table at the beginning of the year and messily threw them on my floor. I jumped on my bed a little bit, trying to convince myself it had a true purpose and that I wasn't just doing it for fun. when I was done, I looked around, satisfied. Other than the bare walls, I had done a good job.

With nothing left to do, I started pacing. How long does it take to take a shower? I mentally made a note to never let Christian shower when I have to talk to him again. And he said I take long showers.

It seemed like hours had passed, but I knew it really was only a matter of minutes. I was just that impatient. Finally, Christian came back.

He laughed when he walked in. "I wasn't gone that long Rosie," he said amused as he looked at the chaos my previously clean side of the room was in.

"Shut up," I grumbled. "How could you take a shower at a time like this?"

"Not all of us have our own shower to use after training," Christian pointed out. "Some of us actually have to wait to get clean."

I wrinkled my nose. Christian had a point. That was one of the things I hated the most before I started dating Dimitri. I don't know how guys survive feeling that smelly and dirty. It was driving me mad. "Point taken," I conceded.

Christian chuckled. "So what's the plan?" He asked.

"Your guess is as good as mind," I told him grumpily. "It has to be subtle. I can't risk getting in trouble anymore. I'm already in detention until I graduate. Stan's been throwing around words like possible expulsion."

Christian rolled his eyes. "You know Dimitri won't let you get expelled," Christian pointed out.

I hesitated. "That's my concern. I can see how much Dimitri loves this job and he risks it every day for me," I told him. "I'm worried that if I get in trouble again, Dimitri will do something that will get him fired. He already does so much for me and Stan is already getting frustrated with him."

"You're really worried about this, aren't you Rose?" Christian asked me curiously. I nodded. "Rose, it will be fine. Dimitri is smart. He knows how to not get himself fired. And I'll never admit this again, so you better listen closely, but you are smart as well. I know you can figure out how to get rid of Natalie without getting caught. Heaven knows I've seen you practically get away with murder already."

I chuckled. "Thanks Christian," I told him. I knew from his serious tone that he meant it. He really thought we could do this. "So, obviously we have to do something that will get Natalie expelled. This may be more difficult than we thought. I mean, if I haven't managed to get expelled yet…" I trailed off. This was already looking hopeless.

Christian's eyes suddenly perked up. "You've never tried to attack a student," Christian pointed out.

"Are you kidding me? How could you even think about risking Lissa like that? I want Natalie gone, but I will not risk Lissa in this. I refuse," I said stubbornly.

Christian was silent for a moment. "Do you really think I would risk Lissa?" He asked me quietly. He sounded like he was fighting his anger. "I love Lissa. She is everything to me. I would never risk doing anything that may put her in danger. I thought you had more faith in me." Behind his anger, I could hear the legitimate pain in his voice. We were at a point in our friendship where we should trust each other.

"I'm sorry Christian. I'm just angry about this whole thing with Natalie. I wasn't thinking straight," I told him apologetically. And it was true. I still can't believe that this was happening. How did it come to be that Lissa's tormenter became her roommate? How did it slip between the cracks that this was the very girl that had brought Lissa to the brink of insanity? It made me more furious than I thought possible.

"It's alright," he said, anger still present in his eyes, but slowly dwindling.

"who did you have in mind?" Rose asked.

"Think about it. Who will Natalie hate the most if she tries to get to Lissa again?" Christian asked her quietly. "Who will she want to get rid of first?" I looked at him cluelessly. "If Lissa's never alone, Natalie can't get to her. Slowly, that's going to drive her over the edge and eventually she'll snap. And she won't go after Lissa. She needs Lissa."

"She'll go after you," I said, finally connecting the dots. "Christian, you can't. You don't know what Natalie is like. I was there. I experienced it. She's dangerous. You think, oh she's just a teenage moroi. She doesn't have a chance against me. But she's smart. She doesn't have much, but she knows how to use the little bit of magic that she has. And she knows how to manipulate. It's too risky. Let me do it."

"If it will help Lissa, I'll take that risk. And I've heard all the stories. I know what Natalie is. I will pretend to be oblivious to what she is doing and I'll be ready. She won't be," Christian told me. "I can do this. You just have to trust me. And whatever you do, you can't let her see you. If she sees you, she will get you expelled."

"I know. There's no way she won't recognize me," I agreed reluctantly. "It can't be me." I hated to admit it, but I knew Christian had a point. I groaned from frustration. "There must be something I can do."

"Keep an eye on things," Christian said. "I know both you and Lissa hate it, but use the bond. Make sure Lissa is okay. That is the best thing you can do for Lissa."

I made a face. Christian was right. Lissa and I hate the breach of privacy the bond entails. I always felt like I was spying on Lissa when I got sucked into her head. Could I do it? Could I willingly spy on her? Thinking about how Lissa was like the last time she was with Natalie, I knew my answer. "I'll do it," I promised.


	6. Chapter 6

Dimitri's Point of View

I sighed as the door closed behind me, trying to convince myself it could have gone worse. And it could have. I still have my job. I wasn't on probation or anything like that. I just had had to listen to an hour long lecture about how Stan "has the Princess Dragomir's best interests at heart." And did I really think "he didn't know who Natalie Dashkov was." And that he "had done extensive checks on her sanity before determining her room placement."

It was entirely ridiculous. How can someone determine whether or not someone is sane? You never hear anyone say, "Oh, I always knew they would go off the deep end." No, you hear, "they were so normal."

I sighed as I walked back to my room. I was dreading giving Rose the news. I knew she wouldn't be surprised, but at the same time, I couldn't help but feel like I had let her down.

When I returned to my room, Rose wasn't there. I took a quick shower and when I got out, Rose was sitting on my bed.

"He said no, huh," she asked, not looking up from the magazine she was leafing through.

"What makes you say that?" I asked her surprised. I sometimes wondered if she was psychic.

"You had an audience," she said absent mindedly.

"An audience?" I asked cluelessly. What was she talking about? I was most definitely alone.

"Albert Fintle's uncle was working in the office. He told him he could hear Stan screaming from his office," Rose explained with a shrug.

"I'm sorry. I tried, I really did," I told him.

Rose finally looked up at me. "Dimitri, I don't blame you," she said honestly. "Stan is an asshole."

I sighed. "Did you do your homework?" I asked her, abruptly changing the subject

Rose looked back down at my bed. "I did some of it," she said.

"And by some of it…" I started.

"I looked at the assignment," she admitted.

I chuckled. "Sounds like we're going to have a quiet night," I said. I reached for the novel I was working on. I resisted the urge to chuckle as Rose grumbled and stomped over to where her bag was.

The next couple of weeks passed without anything happening. I knew Rose was up to something, but she was doing it in her subtle, no one can catch her way. She had been acting weird lately. She wasn't acting out in class or drawing attention to herself. I couldn't figure out what was going on with her.

It wasn't until nearly three months later that anything happened. Rose had just gotten out of the shower after our extra training session. She grabbed her school bag and sat down on our bed.

I knew she had some sort of project she needed to work on. When she opened her notebook, a piece of paper fell out.

I watched as she picked it up and looked at it curiously. He face paled significantly.

"Rose?" I asked her anxiously. When she didn't respond, I started to reach for the paper.

She came back to her senses. "Sorry. I just had more homework than I thought I had," she explained quickly. I looked at her uncertainly. I was almost positive that she was lying. Over the time she had been at St. Vladimir's, Rose had missed more homework than she had done. And she had never reacted like this before. I couldn't imagine what could worry her like that though.

As I tried to figure out how to ask her, Rose had started her homework. Before I found the words, she asked me to help her with her math. I couldn't say no.

After that, I couldn't figure out how to bring the subject up again. It was eating away at me. That was why I was lying in bed, wide awake several hours later. I could hear Rose's soft breathing next to me. I had resigned myself to a long, restless night.

So, you could imagine my surprise when Rose suddenly sat straight up in bed, her eyes widened with fear.

"Roza?" I asked her carefully. I didn't want to scare her. "Rose, what's wrong?"

She hopped out of bed. "Lissa. I need to get to Lissa," she said frantically.

"Wait!" I warned her.

"I can't," she said. her voice was borderline hysterical. "I have to get to Lissa."

"One, you look like a girl. And two, you won't even get to the end of the hallway without me," I told her rationally.

I rifled through my wardrobe until I found one of my hoodies that would cover everything that needed to be covered.

I tossed it to Rose and she put it on while I searched for a t-shirt.

Once I was properly dressed, I walked towards Rose's side. We left the dorm, no one questioning why a novice would be with me.

It was a little tricky when we got to the female moroi dormitory. I had to make up some excuse about how Robert had gotten a text message from Lissa saying she needed help.

It only took a couple of minutes, but eventually I convinced the matron. When we got inside the dorm, Rose took me, not to Lissa's room, but to the bathroom in her hallway.

"Please, just wait here," Rose begged me. I had never seen Rose like this before.

I hesitated before I nodded. "Five minutes," I warned her.

Rose disappeared behind the bathroom door. I don't know how long she was in there, but it was far more than five minutes. I didn't enter until I heard a sharp cry from inside.

I ran in, only to see Lissa curled up in the corner of the bathroom. Rose had her arm protectively around her and looked like she was close to tears herself.

Those details were in the back of my mind. The biggest thing I was registering was the red slowly seeping out of Lissa's wrists. Lissa had cut herself.

"Don't tell," Lissa said weakly. "Don't tell."

Rose looked at me conflicted. She clearly didn't know what to do. Neither did I, for that matter.

I closed my eyes, struggling to come to a decision. Lissa was my friend. She was also Rose's best friend. Protocol fought with my personal feelings. If I didn't alert someone about this, I would never forgive myself if something happened to her.

Sighing, I threw protocol out the window. I grabbed some paper towels and walked over to Lissa. She took them gratefully and dabbed at her cuts. "I won't tell," I told her softly.

"I'm sorry," Lissa said with a wavery voice. I can tell from the red around her eyes and her shaky voice that I missed the waterworks.

"We need to get you back to your room before anyone gets suspicious," I told them. I knew my voice sounded harsh, but I couldn't help it. It was one thing to know that Rose was keeping something from me, but I knew these two things were related.

We escorted Lissa back to her room then me and Rose went back to my room. When we got in, I stood, facing the door for several moments. When I turned around, Rose was standing only a couple of feet away from me. She looked so vulnerable. I knew she was going to tell me the truth now. She was going to tell me what was going on.

"No more secrets," I told her.

"No more secrets," she agreed with a broken voice.

I rushed to her and wrapped my arms around her, ready to finally hear the truth.


	7. Chapter 7

Rose's Point of View

Dimitri was getting suspicious. I don't think he fully understood the danger I was in. If Natalie noticed me, I would be screwed. She would hold it over my head and either get me expelled or use it to get to Lissa. That made me careful, very careful.

I was nothing more than a shadow in the classes I had with her. I didn't participate, I didn't make jokes. I was silent and just blended in.

Almost three months had passed since Natalie first came here and since Stan couldn't see past his pride to move Natalie to a different room. I had so far escaped Natalie's notice, though there were a few close calls.

It wasn't until I was sitting on Dimitri's bed, getting ready to start on the history project I had due that I realized one call must have been a little too close.

A piece of paper fell out of my notebook. A piece of paper I had never seen before. I opened it and felt all the blood leave my body. There was barely anything written on it and it wasn't signed, but I knew who it was from.

I know your secret. Game over.

There wasn't a signature, but I knew who this was from. It had Natalie written all over it. She knew about me. How did she know about me? I've been so careful. What was I going to do now? Pretend I don't know what she's talking about? If she recognizes me, she recognizes me. There's nothing I can do about it. I didn't have a choice. I would have to confront her. See what her terms are. If she were going to turn me in, she would have done that already. She wanted something and I was going to find out what.

I didn't know how long I sat there staring at the note, but I snapped out the haze I was in when Dimitri started to reach for the note.

"Sorry. I just had more homework than I thought I had," I told him in what I hoped was a convincing voice. He didn't believe me, I could see that. As I started working on my homework, I could see him watching me. I wouldn't be able to keep lying to him, so I decided to distract him. I'm crap at math anyway, so what better way to distract him than getting help with my math homework.

Sure enough, Dimitri dropped it. He didn't ask me about the paper the rest of the night. But something was off about him. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. He just seemed distant. I guess I was probably being hypocritical, but I couldn't help but feel he was hiding something from me. Like I said, hypocritical, because I was doing the exact same thing.

All night he looked like he had something on his mind and part of me was grateful when it was late enough to go to sleep. I snuggled into his side, hoping that he would help me go to sleep. I was right and eventually I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

My peace was short lived as something pulled me from my sleep. I sorted through Lissa's messed up emotions and sat up when I realized where she was and what happened. No. not again. How could I have missed this?

"Roza? Rose, what's wrong?" I heard Dimitri ask.

I jumped out of bed and put on my slippers. "Lissa. I need to get to Lissa," I told him.

"Wait!" He warned me.

"I can't," I told him. I was terrified. I couldn't afford to wait. "I have to get to Lissa." It was easy for him to tell me to wait. He didn't see what I say. If I waited, it could be too late.

"One, you look like a girl. And two, you won't even get to the end of the hallway without me," Dimitri told me.

I wanted to snap. I wanted to tell him now was no time to be rational, but I knew he was right. I hate when he's right.

Dimitri got up and went through his wardrobe. He tossed me his hoodie. I was grateful he thought of this. I knew I wouldn't be able to pull myself together long enough to put on everything I needed to look like a boy. I put it on. After another minute, Dimitri had found a t-shirt and we were ready to go.

No one asked us why Dimitri was escorting me out of the dorm. I was grateful, we really didn't need the delay. When we got to the female moroi dorm, Dimitri came up with an ingenious excuse about how Lissa texted me saying she was in need of help. As her cousin, I was permitted in to see her.

Once we got the okay from the matron, I went straight towards the bathroom. I knew Lissa would be there.

I hesitated at the door. "Please, just wait here," I begged Dimitri. I needed to handle Lissa by myself. She didn't need the added stress of an adult. Dimitri looked torn. I could see how much it was killing him to agree to give me my privacy.

I entered the bathroom, my feelings of guilt surfacing. We had agreed a long time ago that there would be no more secrets.

My guilt flew out the window when I saw Lissa. She was sobbing, her eyes red and puffy and filled with tears. I rushed to her side and sat down, draping my arm comfortingly across her back.

Several minutes passed as I tried to calm Lissa down. She didn't tell me what happened, but she didn't need to. I saw enough when I was sucked into her head. When she had stopped crying enough, I tried to clean her up. I hesitated when I saw her wrists. The slits weren't deep. Her goal wasn't death.

When I tried to clean them out, Lissa let out a strangled cry. I heard the door swing open as Dimitri ran in. I could only imagine what this must look like to him.

"Don't tell," Lissa pleaded. "Don't tell."

I looked at Dimitri nervously. I didn't know what the right decision was here. I don't think he did either. After a moment, he nodded. He grabbed some paper towels and walked over to us. He carefully cleaned Lissa's wrists. "I won't tell," he promised her.

"I'm sorry," Lissa said to him. I knew she meant it. She hated how she inconvenienced him.

"We need to get you back to your room before anyone gets suspicious," Dimitri told us. I wasn't entirely surprised with how angry he sounded. We brought Lissa back to her dorm then went back to Dimitri's room. When the door closed behind us, Dimitri didn't turn around to face me for several minutes. I didn't know if he was just that angry with me or if he was trying to find the words he needed to talk to me.

When he turned around, I saw his face fall. I knew what I must look like to him. I felt like I failed Lissa. And I was dreading talking to Dimitri, but I knew after tonight I wouldn't be able to keep this from him.

"No more secrets," he told me as if he read my mind.

"No more secrets," I agreed.

He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me.

It was in his comforting embrace that I was finally able to tell him everything. I told him about Natalie and how somehow she figured out who I am. I told him about what I pieced together about Lissa. How it was happening again. Natalie was subtly wearing down Lissa. I laid all my fears out for him and hoped that somehow he would have the solution like he always does. I hoped that somehow, he would be able to fix this.


	8. Chapter 8

Dimitri's Point of View

I was still trying to wrap my head around what Rose had told me. Natalie knew who she was. I believed Rose when she said that Natalie wasn't going to say anything… yet, but that didn't do anything to alleviate my worries.

After Rose had told me everything, I just held her and tried to think of the solution. I knew that this had to end. And soon.

"Okay," I said after more than an hour had passed.

Rose looked up at me confused. "Okay?" She asked confused.

I looked down at her. "We're going to talk to Natalie… tomorrow," I told her. The wheels in my head were spinning.

"What's this whole we and talk thing?" She asked me.

"Well, you will be talking to her. I will be standing within earshot. The moment she steps out of line, I will step in, take it up with Headmaster Kirova. It's her word against mine. Evan will take my side," I told her confidently. "Natalie will be suspended for threatening a student and if you ask her what she's doing to Lissa, I'll be able to tell Evan about that too. That will change Natalie's punishment to expulsion. Evan can't risk harm befalling the last Dragomir."

Rose shook her head at me. "Dimitri, you don't know Natalie. That won't work. She'll either know you're listening or she'll get away with it. Then she'll be after you too. That can't happen," Rose told me.

I shook my head. How much trouble can one seventeen year old girl possibly cause? Well, other than Rose. I don't believe anyone can cause as much trouble as Rose. "This is the only way to fix this problem. I will not risk yours or Lissa's safety anymore. You are far too important to me. I saw what she did to Lissa; that will not happen to you. This will be Natalie's last night in this school," I told her.

Rose was looking at me with a strange expression on her face. After several moments, she nodded. "Okay," she agreed.

I looked at her suspiciously. "You're agreeing with me?" I asked her. She had to be up to something. She wouldn't usually just let it go without a fight.

"You're already set on this. I could see it. I've never seen you this determined before." I must have looked extremely confused, because Rose hastily explained. "It's not that I haven't seen you determined before, but not like this. You looked like nothing would convince you otherwise. So rather than having you sneak behind my back and do something that might get you fired, I figured this was a better alternative. At least now, I know I have to worry about you."

I just stared at her. I always had known that Rose knew me better than I knew myself. And some part of me had already been planning how to make sure Rose was safe even if she completely refused my idea. But I will never understand how she could possibly know these things. A smile broke out on her face as she took in my expression. "I'm smarter than I look Comrade," she told me and stuck out her tongue at me. I rolled my eyes at her. The amusement vanished from her face as she chewed her lip. If you don't mind cancelling training tomorrow, I'll talk to her after school. That way we'll be alone in a classroom rather than out in the open where there may or may not be witnesses. I don't know what she wants, but I don't want an audience."

"How will you let her know when you want to meet?" I asked her uncertainly. I had figured that Rose was going to wait for Natalie to come to her.

"The same way she got her little message to me. I'm very adept at note-passing," Rose pointed out. I had to hold back my chuckle. I had witnessed it several times. It seemed all she and Lissa did was pass notes back and forth in the classes they shared. I don't know how they managed to learn anything at all. Knowing Rose, she didn't and was just very good at guessing.

"Fair enough," I told her. I would leave the semantics to her. She probably wouldn't tell me the little details anyway. I turned to look at the clock. It was 2:00 am. "Let's try and get some sleep. We'll need it…" I hesitated, then decided it was worth it. "And we might as well go all out and cancel training all day tomorrow."

Rose chuckled and snuggled into my chest. I could feel her yawn into my shirt. "Is Mr. Bad Ass guardian really suggesting I go an entire day without any work-out," she teased me with a sleepy smile.

"Oh Roze," I said with a chuckle. "I have no intention of letting you do absolutely no work-out tomorrow."

Rose looked up at me confused. "But you said…" She trailed off and realization bloomed on her face as well as a deep scarlet color than often accompanied her whenever she missed my blatant innuendos.

I laughed outright. Then I kissed her forehead and lay down, holding her securely in my arms. "Goodnight Roza," I told her gently.

"Night 'Mitri," she told me, stifling her yawn. It was a sign of how exhausting these last few weeks were that Rose was able to quickly succumb to sleep despite the anxiety she was feeling about confronting Natalie tomorrow.

Listening to the soothing sounds of Rose's sleepy breathing, I eventually felt myself drifting off into the peace and oblivion of sleep.

We overslept the next morning. Not by a lot, I was still on time for my responsibilities, but it was a close shave. I skipped breakfast and took the quickest shower I had ever taken and still had had to run to the gym to be on time for my shift.

I wasn't entirely surprised when Rose arrived, nearly twenty minutes late for class. I had made sure she was awake before I left, but she took forever to get ready in the morning. Her short hair was messy, telling me she had skipped brushing it, in favor of turning herself into a man and not being more late than she already was.

I shot her a small smile, which she returned before she joined Christian. She immediately jumped into the exercises they were practicing and I saw her talking to him. Suddenly Christian froze, his eyes widening. Rose put her hand on his shoulder sympathetically. Why, oh why couldn't I have been earlier so I could take my usual post by their group? I was almost positive that Rose had told him what she had seen with Lissa last night.

I watched as Kelvin Holt, one of our newer guardians, approached them to ask them if anything was wrong.

I saw both Rose and Christian nod. I don't know what excuse they gave Guardian Holt, but I saw that he bought it as he walked away, back to his post.

Rose and Christian resumed their training, but it was at a slower pace this time, both of them whispering back and forth. To anyone else, they would look perfectly ordinary, but I knew Rose was filling Christian in on everything that had happened and was doing it so he wouldn't freak out again.

The second class was over, Christian went to Emile and told him he really wasn't feeling well. Emile took one looked at the pained expression on Christian's face before he excused him. Christian had never asked for a day off before. I saw Rose's worried expression trail after him. She walked over to Emile as well. I don't know how she managed it. She had skipped this class so many times, but Emile also let her out.

"Belikov," Emile called.

I walked over to him. "Yes?" I asked him.

"Hemmingway went to check on Ozera. He did look pretty bad. Think you can go check on him as well?" Emile asked me.

I tried not to let my glee show on my face. This was just perfect. Keeping my face stoic and emotionless, I nodded. "I'll let you know how he's doing," I told him.

"Thanks," Emile said abruptly before he turned to the rest of the class.

I walked at a normal pace until I exited the gym. Then I ran. I didn't go to the dorm, I knew that would be pointless. No, I went to the academic building. When I got there, I heard shouting from a classroom I knew should be empty.

"No, it's my turn to talk," a voice that sounded vaguely familiar said.

"I think you've talked enough Natalie. Now it's my turn," an all too familiar voice said.

I felt my blood run cold. This was not the plan at all.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose's Point of View

A rough prodding pulled me from my sleep. I initially rolled over, pulling a pillow over my head, trying to delay the moment when I would have to leave the comfort of our bed.

"Rose. Rose, you need to wake up. We overslept," Dimitri urged.

I sat straight up and looked at the clock. Class started in twenty minutes. I barely got to give Dimitri a quick kiss before he was out the door. He couldn't risk being late, but it was nothing new to me.

Pulling myself out of the warmth of the comforter, I rubbed the bleary sleep from my eyes. I took a quick shower. Dimitri never understood why I showered before and after practice, but I just never felt clean after we slept all night. When I got out of the shower, I glanced at the clock. I was already five minutes late for class. I carefully wrapped myself up and got dressed. I pulled my fingers through my short hair, trying to make it look as neat as possible, but it was no use. My hair grew back in awkwardly so it stuck up in odd angles. I looked like I just rolled out of bed… which really isn't too far from the truth.

Making sure I wasn't missing anything essential, I grabbed my bag and jogged the distance to the gym. I walked in, ignoring the look of disapproval I got from Yuri. He didn't approve of tardiness and I had missed nearly half his class.

Dimitri gave me a small smile as I joined Christian. I could tell he was nearly late and got the last pick of the post. Usually he would be stationed not far from where me and Christian practiced.

"Overslept?" Christian asked with a wink.

I stared at him. "Oh yeah. But it was long overdue. Especially after everything that happened with Lissa," I pointed out to him.

Christian stopped what he was doing and looked at me. "What happened with Lissa?" He asked me.

"Didn't you eat breakfast with her?" I asked him uncertainly.

He shook his head. "You aren't the only one that slept in today," he told me. "What happened with Lissa?"

"You know. Someone's going to notice if you don't start working," I told him, trying to change the subject. I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't think he knew.

"What happened with Lissa?" He asked me more forcefully.

I bit my lip. I knew I had to tell him. He had a right to know. And I knew if our positions were reversed, he would want to know. So I told him. I told him about Lissa cutting herself. Christian froze, the color draining from his face. His behavior was strange enough that Guardian Holt came over to see if he was okay.

We both nodded, not daring to share with him what we were discussing.

"Sorry," Christian said quickly. "I told Robert my wrist hurt a little bit. He decided to tell me about when one of his brothers broke his wrist. He was a little too detailed."

It was a sign of how little Guardian Holt knew us that he nodded and walked away, taking up position against the wall.

Christian and I resumed our work-out, just enough so we wouldn't attract unwanted attention. I could almost feel Dimitri burning a hole into my back, but I didn't care. I slowly told Christian everything. About the note I got. About Lissa when I found her. I told him everything.

First period ended quickly. Or maybe that was just because I was late. The second it was over, Christian walked over to Emile. I knew he was going to say something about how he felt ill and didn't feel up to any more practice. Christian was a goody two-shoes, so Emile would believe him.

It took me about five seconds to realize that Christian should not be wandering around campus alone. I went over to Emile who actually suggested I go after Christian. Easier than I expected.

I ran out of the gym, easily catching up with Christian. "Christian, you can't just go barge in on Lissa," I warned him. "She's in the middle of class!"

"What classroom is she in?" Christian asked me, completely ignoring my warning. "I know she has Elemental Training, but I don't know what room."

I sighed, giving up. I was usually more stubborn than Christian, but if our situations were reversed, I would be tearing down buildings to get to Lissa and make sure she was okay. I let down the walls I built so I could stay out of Lissa's head. I froze as her location washed over me.

I didn't need to look to know Christian would be staring at me. He knew I was with Lissa right now.

When I pulled out of her head and back to my own body, I didn't say anything to Christian. I just ran. I could hear Christian behind me, telling me to slow down and asking me where we are going. I didn't answer I just ran.

I came to a halt outside a classroom that was supposed to be empty. Kicking the door open, I burst inside, Christian hot on my heels.

He froze when he looked inside the room. He wasn't expecting this. I was. I ran over to where Lissa was cowering in the corner and helped her to her feet.

"Shhh… it's okay Lissa. I'm here. It's okay," I told her soothingly.

Letting Lissa sob into my shoulder, I turned slightly so I was facing Natalie. "Did you really think I was going to let you get away with this?" I asked her angrily. "Did you really think I would let you come near Lissa? I don't know how you convinced everybody that you are mentally sound enough to come to this school, but you should know better than to hurt Lissa."

"I am mentally sound," Natalie said in a deranged voice that contradicted her words. "I am mentally sound. It's her that isn't. All that power and she doesn't use it. She could do so much. Get so much, but she doesn't. It's a waste of talent. She doesn't deserve it."

"Now you listen to me," Christian said angrily. I honestly think Natalie forgot about him.

"No, it's my turn to talk," Natalie said.

"I think you've talked enough," Christian told her. "Now it's my turn."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do about it? I'm going to teach the precious Dragomir princess the appropriate ways to use her powers. She's going to help me get my father out of prison and then she's going to use compulsion to help him become king. I don't care if it kills her. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you can do to stop me," she said in an evil, vindictive voice.

"That may be true," a new voice said. "But there is something I can do."

I turned slowly. I don't think I've ever been so grateful to see Dimitri.


	10. Chapter 10

Dimitri's Point of View

I was trying to figure out what to do. I know Rose didn't want me to get involved. My job could be on the line. But this wasn't our plan. Christian wasn't supposed to be here at all, much less confronting Natalie with Rose. I knew Rose was in there. She had been following Christian.

"What are you going to do about it? I'm going to teach the precious Dragomir princess the appropriate ways to use her powers. She's going to help me get my father out of prison and then she's going to use compulsion to help him become king. I don't care if it kills her. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you can do to stop me," I heard Natalie say.

I shook my head. Good enough. I entered the room, controlling my shock when I saw Rose holding Lissa. The dots were starting to connect, but I couldn't think about that right now.

"That may be true. But there is something I can do," I told Natalie calmly. I saw her eyes widen. It took all of my self-control not to react any different than any other guardian would.

"G-G-Guardian B-B-Belikov," she stuttered. "I was… uh…"

"Threatening the last Dragomir? Yes, I heard," I said, keeping all emotion out of my voice. It was remarkably difficult. I thought I had mastered my self-control, especially for situations like this. But I was too close to this and that was making it very difficult to stay neutral. "I believe Headmaster Kirova would like to have a word with you."

Natalie took a step back from me. "I was just joking sir. I don't mean her any real harm. Just a bit of fun," she said frantically.

"It didn't sound like a joke," I told her. "And if you are joking then why is the Princess in this state of distress?"

Natalie glanced at Lissa. "She got into a fight with her boyfriend and is really upset. I was comforting her," Natalie told me quickly.

I glanced at Christian. I knew it wasn't true, but I had to cover all the bases. "Is this true," I asked him, sticking to my professional demeanor. If I strayed from protocol even slightly, Natalie could get away with everything.

"Of course not," Christian said angrily. "This bitch was hurting her!"

"Mr. Ozera. I would kindly like to remind you that profanity is strictly forbidden on this campus," I told him, trying to hide my smile and grateful that I was facing Christian and not Natalie. I composed my face and turned to Natalie. "Both of you will accompany me to Headmaster Kirova's office. Mr. Hemmingway. Once your cousin feels up to it, please escort her to the Headmaster's office."

Rose nodded at me. "Mr. Hemmingway," Natalie said in a taunting voice. She didn't say anything outside of that and willingly followed me to the Headmaster's office. Christian walked behind her, never once taking his eyes off of her.

I knocked on Evan's office when we got there and waited for him to call "Enter," before I walked in. Evan looked up from his paperwork confused when he saw me, Christian, and Natalie.

"What can I help you with Guardian Belikov," Evan asked me.

"Today during second period, Mr. Ozera left class, claiming to be ill. He got a text from his girlfriend asking him for help," I explained. I just made up that last part, because that is the only legitimate reason that Christian could have for knowing how to find Lissa without giving Rose away. "As you know he is dating the last Dragomir. When Mr. Hemmingway followed him, Emile asked me to go check on him as he did look extremely pale. When I found them, Mr. Ozera, Mr. Hemmingway, Ms. Dashkov, and Princess Dragomir were in a classroom that is supposed to be vacant during this period. I heard Ms. Dashkov threaten the Dragomir Princess. Ms. Dashkov claimed to have been joking, but Mr. Ozera is claiming that she was lying. Princess Dragomir will be joining us in a moment. She was very upset when we left."

Evan nodded at me. "Thank you Guardian Belikov," he said to me. He motioned for me to stand by the wall. I did so and forced my face to remain neutral and blank. I was entirely prepared to play the role of uninterested third party.

Evan had both Christian and Natalie sit down in the chairs in front of his desk. He carefully listened to both of their stories. When they had each told their side, he sat back in his chair and frowned, deep in thought. I knew he was waiting for Lissa to arrive.

It only took a couple of minutes before there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in," Evan called.

Lissa took a step in, looking frightened and uncertain. "Princess," Evan said, nodding at her. "I'm terribly sorry. I can see your upset, but I need to hear what happened from you."

Lissa gave a small nod, but didn't say anything. Clearly believing she needed prodding, Evan said, "Why not start from when you texted Mr. Ozera this morning, asking him for help."

I could see a flash of surprise come across Lissa's face, but she quickly covered it up. She stumbled a little when she mentioned texting Christian, but for the most part, she was completely honest with Evan. She told him about how Natalie got to her in between classes and pulled her into an empty classroom. How she texted Christian while she was still in the hallway. How Natalie was trying to force her to help break Natalie's father out of prison. "The ground… she made it shake," Lissa said quietly, he eyes in a far off place. "It was terrifying. She knew how to get to me. But then Christian and Ros-Robert showed up." I held my breath at her slip, but Evan didn't seem to notice.

"Thank you Princess," Evan told her softly. "Ms. Dashkov. Given what I have been told, I have no choice but to expel you for endangerment of a student."

"No! You can't do this! They're lying to cover up for Robert Hemmingway!" Natalie yelled.

It took all of my effort to resist the urge to wince. I prayed with all my heart that Natalie wouldn't talk any further. That Evan wouldn't ask any questions. Of course, that was too much to ask for.

"Robert Hemmingway is illegally attending this school," Natalie said slowly, waiting to see Evan's reaction.

"Mr. Hemmingway?" Evan asked, looking surprised. As a general rule, guardians didn't get surprised. It was a sign of how unexpected that accusation was. "I understand his relationship to the Dragomir Princess, but what does he have to do with anything?"

"Robert Hemmingway is no more Lissa's cousin than I am your daughter. He is in fact not even a he," Natalie said angrily.

Evan's eyes widened as he stared at Natalie. "I'm sorry… I don't think I'm quite following," Evan said uncertainly.

"Robert is a girl," Natalie said bluntly.

I closed my eyes. What am I going to do now?


	11. Chapter 11

Rose's Point of View

I watched Christian, Dimitri, and Natalie leave. Once they did, I turned to Lissa. It didn't require any prodding. Lissa told me everything. How Natalie was playing the role of innocent roommate in the morning. How she had even looked upset that Lissa was upset. And how Natalie had started threatening her, making the ground shift, saying she wouldn't stop unless Lissa agreed to break her father out of prison. After Lissa had told me everything, I urged her to take deep breaths. It only took a couple of minutes for her to calm down. When she did, I walked with her to the Headmaster's office.

When we got there, I took a seat next to the door. "Aren't you coming in?" Lissa asked in a small voice.

I shook my head. "Let's not tempt Natalie anymore, shall we?" I told her quietly. Lissa raised her hand to knock on the door, but I stopped her. "Liss?" Lissa looked at me confused. "Can I… is it okay if I watch?"

She knew what I was asking. She bit her lip before she nodded her head. I'd prefer that you did, she sent through the bond.

I nodded. "You'll be fine," I promised her.

She took a deep breath than raised her hand and knocked on the door. She looked like she was going to her doom.

I closed my eyes, allowing myself to feel our connection. Suddenly, I wasn't seeing the back of my eyelids, I was looking around Kirova's office. This is one of the few office's I am not in all the time. When I get in trouble, I'm sent to Stan, not Kirova.

I tried to send Lissa calming thoughts as she began to speak, but the bond only works one way. She was doing well though. She only stumbled a little bit on the ingenious lie Christian or Dimitri came up with. Really. Saying she texted Christian made everything perfect without the real explanation.

When she had finished speaking, Kirova nodded. He said he was going to expel Natalie. I was doing a little victory dance in my head… well technically in Lissa's head. But suddenly Lissa's fear spiked and I forced myself to pay attention.

"Robert Hemmingway is illegally attending this school," Natalie said. I could hear Lissa's chaotic thoughts running rampant. She was terrified. She knew how much this meant to me. But there was nothing she could do.

"Mr. Hemmingway?" Kirova asked. "I understand his relationship to the Dragomir Princess, but what does he have to do with anything?"

"Robert Hemmingway is no more Lissa's cousin than I am your daughter. He is in fact not even a he," Natalie said harshly. I closed my eyes, willing this to not be real. For this to not be happening.

"I'm sorry… I don't think I'm quite following," Kirova said. This was a good sign. Maybe he wouldn't believe her. maybe he would think she's just trying to get out of trouble.

"Robert is a girl," Natalie said bluntly.

Lissa's thoughts were truly frantic. "Um… I've lived with Robert for over a year. I've seen more of him than I care too. I promise you. He is indeed male," Christian said.

Lissa found strength in Christian's statement. "And I've known my cousin my whole life. He's been a boy since I was in diapers," Lissa said in a convincing voice. She threw just the tiniest bit of compulsion. Not enough for it to be noticed.

"They're lying. Like I said before. They just want to protect her," Natalie said angrily.

"If I may sir?" Dimitri said in his quiet voice. I knew he was trying to follow protocol. If Kirova didn't grant him permission to speak, he wouldn't.

"Yes Guardian Belikov?" Kirova asked him.

"I am in charge of Robert Hemmingway. I train with him before and after school. I have to hope I would have noticed if he weren't a man. There are some things that women just cannot hide," he said calmly.

Kirova nodded. "Thank you Guardian Belikov," Kirova said. Lissa was only faintly aware of that though. She was too focused on Natalie.

Natalie, whose expression was changing from shock to comprehension to anger. I braced myself inside Lissa's head. I knew that Natalie was capable of a lot. I wasn't sure how far she would take this.

"He's in on it," she said, her voice quivering with anger. "He knows she's a girl. He's trying to protect her too."

"Now that's enough," Kirova said sternly.

"You're not listening to me. They are all in on it! Everyone is conspiring against me! Even the guardians!" Natalie said, her voice picking up in volume and becoming increasingly panicked.

"That's enough!" Kirova yelled. "Guardian Belikov is one of my most trusted Guardians. He has been extremely faithful to this program and has never once strayed from protocol. Unless you have something to base these ridiculous accusations on, we are done here. I will contact your guardian and they will make arrangements for you to leave before sunset."

"Over my dead body!" Natalie snarled, jumping to her feet.

Dimitri shifted so he was standing in front of the door. He wasn't about to let Natalie escape. But he underestimated her. A lot.

I watched, my horror mingling with Lissa's at the scene that unfolded. Natalie attempted to go through Dimitri. When that didn't work, she dropped to the ground. Dimitri thought she was going to try to crawl through him. That's what I thought as well, to be honest.

That is not what she did. Natalie bit him on his ankle. She didn't drink enough to kill him, but she drank enough to successfully get around him and run away. I watched with horror as Dimitri collapsed to the ground. He looked so pale.

I pulled myself from Lissa's head, but I wasn't quick enough. Natalie disappeared around the corner before I even got to my feet.

I hesitated before I walked into Kirova's office. It was natural I would want to wait outside to make sure my cousin and my roommate were okay.

Seeing it through my own eyes was worse. Much worse. Lissa hadn't really concentrated on Dimitri. She preferred to stay away from the blood and gore. Natalie had been sloppy, tearing away some of the skin on his ankle in the process of biting him.

I looked at Christian. "What happened?" I asked, playing dumb, pretending I didn't know how this came to be.

"Natalie bit him. we have to get him to the nurse," Christian said. he looked at Kirova for permission to leave.

"Yes, yes. Take him to the nurse," Kirova said hastily. "Princess, you are free to go as well. This school is about to go into lock down so you'll have to stay in the nurse's office."

Kirova didn't look up from a huge binder as he spoke. He was no doubt looking up the numbers he needed to call now that a deranged student was on the loose.

Christian and I helped Dimitri to his feet and supporting most of his weight, we headed to the nurse. Normally Lissa would have healed him, but Kirova wouldn't approve of her use of magic. her magic is strictly monitored when used… or at least when they know it's being used. I think her magic frightened a lot of the teachers. It's rare. Really rare.

We were almost to the health building when the lockdown started. We had had drills before, but never something like this. I could see students rushing towards buildings with frightened expressions on their faces. They knew this wasn't a drill.

Dimitri slumped in our arms, falling unconscious from all the blood he lost. That was when we full blown sprinted.

Finally, we walked into the health building. The nurse looked like she was going to tell us we shouldn't be here, but she took one look at Dimitri and changed her mind.

"Put him here. On the bed," she told us. She bustled around the room looking for supplies. "What happened?"

"A student… bit him," Christian said in between pants.

I forced myself to leave Dimitri's side and stand by the wall. I didn't trust myself not to touch him if I stood by the bed. I knew he would be fine. The worst part was going to be waiting for his

I just stood there, watching and waiting. That was all I could do.


	12. Chapter 12

Dimitri's Point of View

My dreams were muddled and chaotic. As soon as one horror finished unfolding I was immediately sent into another horror. To anyone else, these wouldn't seem like nightmares, but they were to me.

No matter how many time Rose had explained the pleasure of vampire venom, I never quite understood. She said it was the most difficult thing to handle the cravings. Now I understand.

In my dreams, I'm bitten in a thousand different ways. No one ever drinks enough to turn me into a strigoi – thank god, but the pleasure it invokes in me was there. Natalie's venom was so potent, I couldn't even feel the pain of my injury. Even as black danced on my vision, I was too consumed by the bliss of after effect of the bite. I knew I was hurt. I've lost consciousness enough to recognize that, but I couldn't make myself care.

I found myself begging for more. There was always a moroi willing to comply. But it was never enough. It was just a shadow of the bliss. Thus the begging. And even whilst I was disgusted with myself, I couldn't make myself stop. I needed the bliss, needed the venom. And I hated every minute again.

I was grateful when the sedative I was given in the nurse's office finally wore off, releasing me from my prison. My vision was blurry, but I was aware of several figures moving around in my peripheral vision.

"Dimka," I heard someone call. "Dimka!"

My eyes adjusted and I sat straight up. "Vika?" I asked confused.

"Oh Dimka! You're alright!" another voice said.

I turned, shocked. What was going on?

I didn't really have time to think about it before I was being pulled into a bone crushing hug. "Mom?" I asked uncertainly.

"Oh Dimka. I was so worried about you!" my mother told me.

I just stared at her. "What are you doing here?" I asked her uncertainly.

"Rose called us," Viktoria said.

My mother's expression darkened slightly, but she didn't say anything, which I see as a drastic improvement.

"But how?" I asked, still confused. "I was only out for a couple of hours."

Viktoria and my mother exchanged uneasy glances. For the first time, I noticed Lissa, Rose, and Christian in the far corner of my room. There whispers abruptly cut off, alerting me to their presence.

"Comrade," Rose said tentatively, ignoring the angry look my mother sent her. "You were out for three days."

"Three days? But how?" I asked incredulously. That wasn't possible. "It was just my ankle!"

"Natalie bit through the tendon in the back of your ankle," Viktoria explained. "We got here yesterday morning. Rose had called us and told us what happened. She thought we had a right to know." Viktoria shot our mother a meaningful look.

I internally groaned. I was grateful for Rose. I just wished the tension wasn't here. I wish my mother would just accept her.

"So what does that mean?" I asked.

Viktoria and Olena looked away from me, clearly willing to leave that news to Rose.

"Three weeks," she said, looking me right in the eye.

"Three weeks?" I asked. I closed my eyes, trying to control my jumbled emotions. Three weeks was a long time, but it would be bearable.

"They were able to repair your tendon for the most part, but it still needs to heal. You'll have to use crutches for a week or so, but then you'll be able to start walking on it in little spurts, rebuilding the strength. Stan expects you back in three weeks," Rose said. This time she looked away from me. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

I looked at her confused. "Back?" I asked. I had thought she just meant back at work, but why would she be this upset?

"You're coming back to Russia with us," my mother told me.

I stared at her and shook my head. "No. I have responsibilities here. I can't just leave my students," I said quietly.

I glanced at Rose who was staring at the wall like it was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen.

"We already cleared it with Guardian Alto," my mother explained, her smile increasing. "Oh, you're sisters are so excited. As you know, Sonya is pregnant. Her baby boy is due in a matter of days. You'll get to be there when your nephew is born. This will be great and you deserve some time off."

"I can't go," I told her, shaking my head. I understood that she wanted to separate me and Rose, but this was ridiculous. Why couldn't she just accept my relationship with Rose? "I can't believe you would think I would just leave Rose behind. I love her mom! Accept it!"

"Dimitri!" Rose said sternly. I turned to her shocked. "This was my idea, not your mother's."

I just stared. And stared. And stared. Because surely, I must have heard her wrong. Because Rose knew me too well to think I would do this. "Your idea?" I asked quietly.

"You're always talking about your family and how much you miss them. You were so excited when you found out Sonya was pregnant. This is your chance to spend some time with them. I know I ruined our last trip, but here's your chance to visit them without any issues," Rose told me. "I know you want to see them. You just want me to be with you. But I have to stay here. Keep up with my classes and training. And you need to go get better. Please, do this." I was about to object. "For me," she hastily added.

I looked at her and sighed. She knew I wouldn't deny her this. I nodded. "When's our flight?" I asked turning back to my mother.

She glanced at her watch. "In about four hours," she told me. "We'll be leaving in about two." A strange look came across her face and she took a deep breath. "Rose will help you pack while me and Viktoria tidy up our guest lodgings." By her tone, you would have thought she was confessing a murder. But I couldn't help but grin. My mother would never have let me alone with Rose. She was trying. She really was. It was a baby step, but it was a step.

I carefully swung my feet out from under the sheet and off the bed so I was sitting on the edge. I wasn't surprised by how tight my ankle felt. I knew if it weren't for the medicine running through me right now, I would probably be in a lot of pain.

Rose helped me to my feet and gave me the crutches. She briefly taught me how to use them. I'll admit, it was harder than I thought. It's not just about walking with them. You have to hold your ankle behind you so if you fall, you don't fall on them. Also, the crutches have to be held just the right distance from you. If they're too far they won't support you and you will fall. If they are too close, they will get in the way and you will trip and fall.

"When did you become the master of crutches?" I asked Rose jokingly.

"You should have seen her in Ambel," Lissa teased good naturedly. "She was on crutches more than she wasn't."

"That's not true!" Rose protested. "I was only on crutches about…" Rose started to count on her fingers. When she got to about fifteen, I cut her off.

"You never struck me as clumsy," I said surprised.

"She's not," Lissa said. "She just gets into a bunch of stuff that she shouldn't."

Rose stuck her tongue out at Lissa.

"Ready Comrade? We have to go pack," Rose told me.

I sighed and followed her to my room. We packed slowly. I had to rest often. Being on crutches really strains my calf. It's not used to having to do all the work.

We had barely closed the clasp on my suitcase when there was a knock on my door. "Dimka," Viktoria called. "Mom sent me to get you."

"One sec," Rose called. She pulled me towards her and pulled my head down so she could kiss me. I closed my eyes, trying to commit the feeling of her lips on mine to memory. It would be three weeks before this happened again. "I love you," she whispered to me when she broke the kiss.

"I love you too," I whispered back. I kissed her forehead and reluctantly stepped back from her.

I opened the door and Rose handed my suitcase to Viktoria. As the door close behind me, my heart clenched. This was going to be a long three weeks.


	13. Chapter 13

Rose's Point of View

Lissa and I were pushed out of the nurse's office as it was transformed into a hospital. It wasn't the first time something like this happened. Students got hurt enough to need real medical attention all the time. Despite that, I couldn't help but bite my nails down to cuticles as I waited to hear about Dimitri. I was with Christian and we were lurking, pretending to want to know how our mentor was doing.

When Dimitri had been in there nearly three hours, I started to panic. It shouldn't take this long to stitch up his ankle.

Finally, after an impossibly long time, the nurse came out. She explained that Natalie had cut through the tendon in Dimitri's ankle. It was trickier to heal, because of its location. Dimitri would probably be out for a couple of days between healing and the medicine he was being pumped with. While my panic disappeared, my fear was still there. Christian and I thanked the nurse for telling us and we walked away. The moment we were out of earshot, I pulled out my cellphone and called Viktoria.

"Come on Vika… Answer," I groaned as the phone kept ringing. Eventually it went to voicemail and I slammed my phone shut angrily. Viktoria was off today. I knew because Dimitri had been complaining about not being able to celebrate some Russian holiday.

"What are you going to do now?" Christian asked me.

I knew my face must have looked like I was about to commit a murder, because that is sincerely what I felt like. "I'm going to make a deal with the devil," I said reluctantly. I turned around and walked towards Stan's office. I could hear Christian following me.

When I got to his office I hesitated before I knocked on the door. "Come in," Stan called. I opened the door and an annoyed expression immediately found its place on Stan's face. "What is it Mr. Hemmingway?"

"Sir," I said, hoping that would put it in a slightly better mood. "I was hoping you would give me Guardian Belikov's emergency contact number."

Stan's eyes rose into his forehead. "And why would I do that?" Stan asked.

"In light of Natalie's recent attack on Guardian Belikov, I tried to call his sister and tell her, but she is ignoring me. I know that she had a right to know," I told him. I made it sound like I didn't want to talk to her. "However, if you can't do it, I guess it's not the end of the world. Thanks Guardian Alto!"

"Now wait right there Mr. Hemmingway," Stan said, looking at me like Christmas had come early. "Trouble in paradise?" I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. The entire staff at St. Vladimir's had bought our cover of my being interested in Dimitri's sister. It was actually almost laughable. "Well, I'm a firm believer in facing your problems and there's no reason a little fight with his sister should stop you from contacting the family." Stan looked through a large file until he found what he was looking for. He wrote down a number on the memo pad. When he handed me the note, he grinned at me. "Have a nice call Mr. Hemmingway."

Inside I was singing. I did it. I tricked him. But I wasn't out of his office yet, so I had to keep that inside. Putting on my most annoyed face, I made my voice sound as ungrateful as possible. "Thanks Guardian Alto. I really appreciate this," I said in a monotone.

"You may go," he said to me, waving me away.

I eagerly walked out the door. I didn't say anything as I passed Christian. I knew he would follow. Once we were out of the building, I typed in the number Stan had given me. I didn't know who it belonged to.

After two rings, someone answered the phone in Russian. I recognized the voice. "Yeva," I said. I made a split second decision. "Can you give the phone to Olena?"

I heard a yell in Russian and a couple of seconds later, a new voice was greeting me in Russian. I knew it was Olena. "Olena, it's me Rose. Please don't hang up on me," I pleaded.

"Why shouldn't I?" She asked me.

"Because this isn't about me. It's about Dimitri. He's hurt," I told her.

"Hurt?" She asked me. The hatred in her voice was replaced by a deep concern.

"A student here, she bit him. She ripped through the tendon in his ankle. They have him in the medical center now. They said he should wake up in a couple of days. I called, because I thought you had a right to know," I told her quietly.

There was a long silence on the other side of the call. "Thank you," Olena finally said. Her voice was stiff and it was clear she didn't want to say it, but she had. She said it.

I grinned to myself. It was a start. Olena hung up without saying goodbye. A couple of hours later, I got a text from Viktoria. She and Olena were flying to America. They were about to board the plane.

I sighed. Viktoria had mentioned they weren't renting a car, which was her way of saying that someone needed to pick them up. I didn't go to Stan this time. I went to Yuri. He was in charge of the floor under ours and he was friendly with Dimitri. I was sure he would do it for him.

Sure enough, Yuri agreed to pick up Olena and Viktoria the next morning when their flight touched down.

I didn't sleep well that night. I kept thinking about Dimitri and his family.

When morning finally came, I felt so grateful that I wouldn't have to keep tossing and turning as sleep evaded me. Before I knew it, Viktoria and Olena were driving into St. Vladimir's being guided by Yuri.

Viktoria hugged me the moment she was out of the office after getting her guest accommodations, but I searched for Olena. When I spotted her, I stepped out of Viktoria's embrace. "Mrs. Belikov," I called her softly.

"Robert," Olena said to me stiffly.

I took a deep breath before I spoke to her. "Dimitri's been out for two days and will still be out for several more hours, I wish to speak to you before you see him," I told her quietly.

Olena reluctantly nodded. She handed her little duffel bag to Viktoria. Viktoria didn't say anything, just shot me a confused look before she went to drop off their luggage in their room.

"What do you wish to speak about?" Olena asked me.

I looked at the ground. "The doctor said that he won't be able to be on duty for three weeks after he's released," I told her. The news had really gotten me thinking and this decision was very difficult to make, but I knew it was best for Dimitri. "There is no reason for Dimitri to stay here while he is recovering. I… I think he should go back to Russia with you for those three weeks until he is cleared to go back to work."

"And what do you want me to do?" Olena asked suspiciously.

"Just clear it with Stan," I told her with a shrug.

"I am not convincing the head guardian that you should get to go to Russia with us," Olena warned me.

I looked at her surprised. "I won't be going with you," I told her surprised.

"You would just let him leave you for three weeks?" Olena asked me surprised.

I nodded. "I want him to be happy. And I know how much he misses you," I told her, not looking at her. "And I can't just leave. This will be good for him, for both of us."

Olena nodded and walked away. I immediately went to find Lissa. I spent the rest of the day and all night in Lissa's room. It felt nice being able to have a sleepover like we used to all the time before.

The next day, we met up with Christian and went to see Dimitri. We were very surprised when we found out he wasn't awake. A couple hours after we showed up, Dimitri woke up and just a few hours later he was gone, on his way to Russia.

The three weeks he was gone, crawled by. I never realized how much time I spent with him until all of that time became free time. Finally, there were only two days before Dimitri would be back. I went to the gym. I was sure we would continue training once he came back and I wanted to get started so he wouldn't be disappointed.

After I had warmed up, I felt a prickling feeling at the back of my neck as if I were being watched. I turned around, trying to figure out what it could be when I felt something crack against the back of my neck.

A feeling of déjà vu mixed with pain as I passed out.


	14. Chapter 14

Dimitri's Point of View

The plane ride passed in a blur. I slept the entire way, which was surprising considering I had spent the last three days asleep.

I couldn't help but smile as we drove up to my house. I had forgotten how much I missed it and how much I missed my family.

Viktoria helped me out of the car and handed me my crutches, which were absolute hell to get onto the airplane. It took a good thirty minutes of convincing a security guard that I wasn't going to use it as a blunt weapon before I was allowed through.

I hobbled over to my house, hopping up the steps that lead to the front door. Crutches were a lot more difficult than they looked, even I was struggling with them. I was so happy to rest on the couch when I finally got in. My peace was short lived as Karolina pulled me to my feet and captured me in a bone crushing hug. She was soon joined by a very, very pregnant Sonya. I hadn't seen Sonya since she announced the news of her pregnancy and now, she was huge. It had been over eight months since she found out she was pregnant, so I shouldn't be surprised, but I was. Very surprised.

I bit back anything I would have said to her about how she looked, remembering my mother's warning about Sonya's out of control emotions, in the car. Instead I kissed her cheek and told her it was great to see her.

And I was happy to see her. I was happy to see them all. Karolina and Sonya and Paul and Yeva and Viktoria and my mother. I was happy to spend time with my family. That didn't stop me from feeling a stab of pain when Paul asked where Aunt Rose is and I didn't miss the worried look Karolina shot Viktoria just for Viktoria to shake her head. But I forced myself not to think about that. I focused on spending time with my family.

Ten days after I came to Russia, Sonya had her baby. I had been the first one to wake up when Sonya screamed as the first contraction hit her. I drove to the hospital at speeds that would make Rose proud. Viktoria sat in the passenger seat while my mother and Karolina sat in the back and soothed Sonya. As the only two that have actually gone through childbirth, I did not argue when they insisted on sitting with Sonya.

When we got to the hospital, my mother went in with Sonya while Karolina, Viktoria and I were forced into the waiting room. And wait we did. For nearly twelve hours. It was a long, long labor. But after all that waiting, we were blessed with beautiful news. Sonya gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him Ilari. He had the same chocolate brown eyes that everyone in my family possessed, but the tufts of his hair were a dark brown color, nearly black. He was a chubby baby, his cheeks puffing out slightly with every breath he took. His little hand wrapped around one of my fingers when I held him. I had never seen a more precious sight.

When Ilari came home four days later, I coddled him so much. When Sonya wasn't feeding him or changing his diaper, I was holding him and playing with him or just letting him sleep in my arms. I was trying to make up for the years of his life I would miss in the few days I had.

Despite my joy at being home, I was excited to go back. When I found out there was a cancellation on an earlier flight, I booked it without a second thought. I haven't gone this long without Rose ever and I was eager to see her again. Three weeks was a long time.

The flight passed in a blur. My nerves were on edge as I anticipated seeing Rose again. I didn't have time to call and let any of the guardians know I had gotten an early flight back, so I decided to walk back. Rose had done it a couple of times before, so I knew it wasn't too far.

St. Vladimir's was in a state of chaos when I walked through the gates. I looked around at the guardians that were literally running from building to building. There wasn't a single student about. Usually, particularly when the weather was as nice as it was today, students would litter the grounds, but not a single student was about. A couple of senior novices were scurrying about. I noticed Eddie, but he looked like he had something to do as he disappeared inside of Kirova's office.

When I walked in, I stopped a guardian that was rushing out of Stan's office. "What's happening?" I asked him worriedly. Rose might have to wait if they needed my help with something.

My thoughts were on hints of a strigoi attack or a sighting of Natalie, so I was entirely unprepared for his answer.

"Two students have been kidnapped," he said before rushing away, no doubt with specific and time-sensitive tasks to complete for Stan.

I felt my blood go cold. It couldn't be her. She just wasn't that unlucky… right? I rushed up to my room, praying that she would be there, sitting on my bed, waiting for me. No such luck. I forced myself to remember that I was gone for three weeks. Rose probably hadn't stayed in our room. I knocked on the room she and Christian shared. No one answered. I could feel my fears rising. I got into the moroi dorm, saying something about how I had to interview some students. I guess my excuse was realistic, because I was let right in.

I knocked on Lissa's door, praying that Rose was here with her. Clearly that was asking for too much, because when Lissa answered her door, her eyes were red and puffy and Christian was trailing behind her. He wasn't crying, but he looked almost as upset as Lissa.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"I don't know," Lissa whispered. "I don't know."


	15. Chapter 15

Rose's Point of View

When I woke up, nothing made sense. Shadows danced in my vision and I kept seeing flashes of movement. But it was like my eyes couldn't adjust. And there was a strange nausea curling in the pit of my stomach. It was quite possibly one of the most unpleasant sensations I've ever felt.

I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated. I felt a stab of pain at the nape of my neck and let out the breath I was holding. That at least was familiar territory. And now I knew why my vision was blurry. They gave me a concussion.

Part of being a guardian is being able to ignore your injuries until everything is safe for your moroi. Channeling everything Dimitri taught me, I forced myself to look through my pain. I was taken from St. Vladimir's and something told me this wasn't a random kidnapping. I was targeted. Not that I thought I was special, but my luck just wasn't that bad. Of all the moroi and dhampirs that go to St. Vladimir's, I was the only one kidnapped?

I heard a whimper to my right and turned my head as much as I could to see where it came from. My eyes widened when I saw a moroi. As my eyes focused more, I could barely suppress my gasp. It wasn't just any moroi. It was Jill.

"Jill?" I asked quietly, trying not to alert the strigoi to the fact that I was awake. It was probably useless, because their senses are better than even Jill's, but I had to try.

"Rose?" Jill asked, just as quietly. I could hear the surprise in her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know. Just thought I'd drop by, see how you're doing," I said sarcastically. I didn't mean to sound so bitchy, but come on. What did she think I was doing here?

"Oh, right," Jill said apologetically. "Sorry." The tone of her voice was heartbreaking. I forgot that she is only fourteen. And this is the second time that she has been kidnapped by strigoi. She must be terrified.

"I didn't mean to sound like a bitch," I said, instantly sorry. Jill was a young, sweet girl. She must be terrified out of her mind.

"You didn't," Jill told me. "I just asked a stupid question. So… What's the plan?" I grinned to myself. That was one of the great things about Jill. She was a forgive and forget type person. Not like me. I hold grudges. Now I just had to think of a plan.

Jill trusted me. She believed I would be able to get her out, purely because I was able to do so over the summer. I didn't want to betray that trust. I wanted to believe it was possible. And I was going to try my hardest to make sure that Jill got out of this safely.

I was about to tell her that I would think of something and that everything would be okay, when a cold voice interrupted us. "Ah," an eerily familiar voice said. I couldn't place where I knew it from. I definitely didn't know any strigoi that were still alive. "Our little refugees are awake and are getting to know each other. How sweet." I nearly groaned. I hadn't realized how loud we were talking. Not loud enough for them to hear what we were saying, but loud enough that they knew we were saying something. I was about to tell this strigoi that they weren't going to get away with this and say anything that would portray the confidence I wasn't sure I felt, but all words got stuck in my throat when the strigoi stepped in front of me. I don't think I could have made a sound, even if I wanted to. Which was okay, because Jill made enough sound for the both of us. The strangled noise that left her throat was a mixture between shock and fear.

We knew the strigoi standing in front of us. It was Natalie.

I had never been in this situation before. The other strigoi I faced were strangers, people I had never met before. But now, I knew Natalie. One of Dimitri's lessons on strigoi came back to me. He explained how I needed to mentally prepare myself to kill strigoi. Not only for the guilt that comes with it, but to actually make myself kill one.

Now I understood what he meant. It was easy to kill a stranger. You didn't know them when they were alive. But now? All I could see was Natalie as a moroi. She may have been deranged, but I didn't want her dead. The scary thing about strigoi is that they still look like themselves. Aside from being paler and having a red rim around their eyes, they look exactly the same.

I could see the tell-tale green eyes that the Dashkovs and the Dragomirs share. I could see Natalie's cheek bones, exactly as they had been when they were filled with the colors of life. Even though her face was now lifeless, it was still her face.

I would have to fight all of my instincts just to kill her. Because when I look at her, I see the insane moroi that tortured Lissa, not the strigoi that stood before me.

For the first time in my life, I was speechless. Truly and really speechless. I couldn't think of anything to say if I wanted to. "Ah, what's the matter?" Natalie asked, her voice exactly the same, yet so, so different from when she was a strigoi. "Cats got your tongue?"

As if on cue, that's when I found my voice. "You won't get away with this. The guardians will find us," I told her confidently.

"Yes, I believe they will. They are no doubt already starting to understand the clues that I left behind. The clues that will lead them right here," Natalie told me.

I tried not to let her see my confusion. "And then what?" I asked. Suddenly it dawned on me. "There are other strigoi here, aren't there? And they're going to ambush the guardians when they get here."

"You're partially right," Natalie said. "There are other strigoi here. But they aren't going to touch the guardians. Then they might not get our little message."

"Message?" I asked confused.

"Yes. The one where we will kill their last hope. You are the girl. The one that is willing to go to any lengths to change things. That is dangerous for us. If girls can become guardians, this world will become more perilous for the strigoi. With you, dies the hope for the guardians. But don't worry. You'll still be slightly alive when the guardians get here. But you'll be close. Too close for even the Dragomir princess to save you. You'll have just enough life left to die in Guardian Belikov arms. I figured I owed your precious Dimitri that," Natalie told me. There was pure malice in her voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said stubbornly.

"Oh, but you do. The strigoi know everything. We know about your relationship with Guardian Belikov. We know about secrets that would make you speechless for hours. And most importantly, we know about you," Natalie said, turning to Jill.

"Me?" Jill asked in a squeaky voice. "What is so special about me?"

"You don't know?" Natalie asked, the joy in her voice sounded weird. "Oh, this is just perfect. You don't even know who you are. You don't even realize what your death will mean?"

"And what will it mean?" Jill asked. Her voice was slightly shaky, but otherwise it had an air of confidence that I know she didn't feel. I was proud of her. It took years of training for guardians to mask their voice and emotions. Jill was stronger than I gave her credit for.

"It will mean the death of the Dragomir line," Natalie said.


	16. Chapter 16

Dimitri's Point of View

We spent hours collecting every piece of evidence we could. We were shocked by how much we found. Usually in attacks or kidnaps, the kidnappers are careful. They leave behind very little evidence. Evidence that requires much speculation and guessing. This wasn't like that.

There was one witness. An eight year old moroi insisted they saw someone that look exactly like Jill Mastrano, being held over someone's shoulder as they disappeared into the woods.

There were footprints right outside the wards which suggested several someone's had joined our kidnappers outside the wards. The footprints led to a cave barely a mile from St. Vladimir's. The footprints never went past the wards, which suggested it was strigoi. As did the location of the cave. Rose and Jill had been kidnapped right before dawn, which meant the strigoi wouldn't have had much time to get out of the sun.

There was rock residue in the gym as well as dried blood. I was sure it was Rose's. She was the only one that would have reason to be in the gym at this time. There was no sign of a struggle, which meant whoever it was, snuck up behind her. It was hard to sneak up on Rose. Most couldn't manage it. Which meant it wasn't a human that snuck up behind her. It was a moroi or a dhampir.

And then there was the location Jill was taken from. It was late, very early in the human world, and Jill was putting the library books she had been using away. The librarian said that one moment Jill was putting away a book and the next she was gone. There was also rock residue in the library where she had been standing.

But it was too convenient. As if it were planned. There was too much careless evidence. I feared that if we went to the caves, we would be walking right into a trap. It was nearly dawn now, which marked twenty-four hours since they had been kidnapped. Surely the strigoi should have moved on. That's what would make sense. But I had a feeling the strigoi knew us too well. They knew that even if they had departed days ago, we would still go check the caves, just to reassure ourselves that we really had exhausted all possibilities. I had a strange feeling that despite the opportunity to escape, if we went to the caves, the strigoi would still be there.

But it was my duty to present our findings to Stan. I reluctantly walked over to Stan's office. I was exhausted. I hadn't been on my feet this long in three weeks. My ankle was sore from being used so much and I just wanted to sleep. But I knew I wouldn't be able to until Rose was back safe and sound.

I knocked on Stan's door, entering when he told me to do so. "Guardian Belikov," Stan said, nodding at me.

"Guardian Alto," I said, nodding back. "I am here to inform you of the evidence we collected in our investigation of the missing students."

"Go on," Stan said, gesturing for me to sit down. I sat down gratefully and began to tell him about everything we had found. I put extra emphasis on how suspicious it was that we found all this evidence and explained my theory of the trap. When I had relayed everything to him, I could literally see the wheels turning in his head as he processed everything. "I will relay the information to the head guardian of the royal moroi court. You are dismissed."

My eyebrows shot into my hairline. "The head guardian of court?" I asked uncertainly. "Usually he wouldn't become involved in something as minor as a school kidnapping."

"I am aware of that. But it is protocol to inform the court of any emergencies and the moment I mentioned Jillian Mastrano's name, Guardian Croft insisted that I keep him updated with everything we find. He's already called five times asking if anyone has come to update me on our investigation," Stan told me. He rubbed his temples and I felt a brief spurt of sympathy for him. Stan may be the biggest asshole I've ever met, but he really does care about the wellbeing of his students and his school. He just has a weird way of showing it. And right now, I could see how worried he was about Rose and Jill.

"Odd," I remarked lightly. "If there is anything I can do, please let me know."

"Actually Belikov, there is something. I haven't had time to contact the Ms. Mastrano's or Mr. Hemmingway's families. School protocol is we have to wait twenty four hours for the students to return to notify the families. I have their emergency contacts written down here," Stan said, handing me a little memo with four numbers, two under each name.

I took it and nodded. I left Stan's office and went back to my room. I ignored both of the numbers on Rose's emergency contacts, knowing that they wouldn't lead me anywhere. I pulled out my phone and went to the number Abe insisted I put in my phone so I could contact him in case of emergency. This was the second time I've had to use this number and I truly hoped it would be the last.

I finally worked up the courage to call him and cringed when the first ring sounded. Hoping that he wouldn't answer and I would get more time to figure out how to tell him his daughter was kidnapped, I held my breath as the phone kept ringing.

Luck just wasn't on my side today. "привет," a voice came from the other side. (Hello).

I scrunched up my forehead surprised. "Вы в России?" I asked in the same language. (Are you in Russia?)

"Belikov?" Abe asked surprised, switching back to English.

"Yeah," I said.

"What's wrong?" Abe asked me. I couldn't see him, but I knew too well how his eyes would narrow when he asked that.

"She was kidnapped. Rose. I don't know where she is," I told him quietly. There was no good way to tell a father his daughter was kidnapped.

I heard a swear word come out of his mouth that would have my mother throwing a fit. "Yakında orada olacağım," Abe said in a rush. (I'll be there soon).

I stared at the phone. I had no idea what language he was speaking now. He might have been making something up for all I knew. I wonder if this is how Rose felt. "Um…" I said hesitantly.

"Sorry. I sometimes switch to Turkish unintentionally. It's my mother language," Abe explained. I heard him bark out an order to someone in the same language. I could only guess he was using a different cell phone, because I didn't hear anyone speak back. "I said I'll be there soon."

With that, Abe hung up. I stared at the phone. I didn't doubt him, but I just wondered how he was going to get a plane on such short notice. But then I remembered that he was Abraham Mazur. Nothing should surprise me.

I had to remind myself to call Jillian Mastrano's mother. I dialed the number on the memo. That conversation was awful. Mrs. Mastrano started crying the second I told her what had happened. It took me nearly twenty minutes to calm her down enough to tell her the guardians could provide transportation for her if she wished to come to the Academy. Mrs. Mastrano immediately agreed.

I sighed when I finally got off the phone. There are some things school just cannot prepare you for. And telling a parent that something has happened to their child is one of them. I just hoped this had a happy ending. One that didn't end with me having to tell them their child is dead. Because I really don't think I could handle that.


	17. Chapter 17

Rose's Point of View

I don't know what it was about strigoi, but they had an uncanny ability to catch me by surprise… All the time. It was rather annoying really.

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. I hoped beyond hope that there was no way that this was true. It couldn't be. Eric had always loved Rhea. He had been faithful to her. At least that's what I had always believe. I was young when I had known him. He died when I was twelve. But Natalie had to be wrong. I refused to look at the telltale Dragomir eyes that Jill possessed. I refused to look at the faint similarities between her and Eric Dragomir. I just refused.

The blessing came in the form of a memory. "You're wrong," I said confidently. "Jill cannot be a Dragomir. I met both of her parents."

And it was true. They had come to my molnija ceremony. Her parents wanted to thank me for keeping their child safe. It was strange. They knew everything about how I had helped Jill and the other moroi, but they didn't know that I was a girl. They told me, and I quote, if they had a son they would want them to be just like me. It was strange. But they were nice. And they were her parents. Not Eric Dragomir.

"Um… Rose?" Jill said quietly. "John isn't my father. He raised me and I consider him my dad, but he's not my birth father. My mom always told me my real father didn't want to have anything to do with me." A determined expression came across her face as she looked up at Natalie. "But I believe her. My mother wouldn't lie to me. I don't know where you came up with the idea that I'm a Dragomir, but you are wrong."

"I didn't come up with the idea," Natalie said with a smug smile.

"I did," another strigoi said, stepping from the shadows. This strigoi was tall and slender, clearly a moroi before they turned into a strigoi. They had the telltale green eyes of the Ivashkov's. Green eyes that were slightly darker than Natalie's, but that sported the same red ring.

"And who are you?" I asked. I wanted to know why they were such a credible source.

"I am Daniella Ivashkov's cousin in law. I believe you know her son, Adrian?" The moroi said with a wicked grin. I winced at the reminder of the life I was almost forced into. That was well over a year ago and I still am terrified that I'm somehow going to be pulled back to that life. "Daniella helped Eric create the account for Emily Mastrano so she could raise Jill comfortably. Eric wanted to be part of her life, but Emily wanted to keep her away from the stigma of being royalty. I walked in on Daniella one day, just a few weeks before a strigoi awakened me. And she told me the truth and begged me to keep it secret. I was so naïve then. I didn't realize the power of the information I was given. But after I was awakened, I learned so much. I found the right allies. We are working towards a common goal. We don't need to go after Vasilisa. According to Natalie, she is hopelessly in love with a dhampirs. She will not make any moroi babies. For a while, we thought that would be the end of it, but then I realized what might surface. We believe Tatiana Ivashkov already knows of Jill, knows who she is. This wasn't going to stay secret much longer and we had to get to Jill before she got extra protection for being the last Dragomir with a chance to repopulate the Dragomir line."

"You are insane," I spat out angrily. I didn't really mean it though. There was no doubt in my mind that he was telling the truth. If there was anyone Eric Dragomir would have trusted, it would have been Daniella Ivashkov. That's how I met Adrian in the first place. Eric always acted as if he owed Daniella something. Now I knew it was true. I was trying to wrap my head around Jill being a Dragomir. As difficult as this was for me to believe, I know it was one hundred times more difficult for Jill.

"Rose," Jill said softly.

"I'm sorry Jill," I whispered to her. My heart broke for her. I knew how she felt. The same thing happened to me, except learning about my true father was a blessing. Jill just found out her real father is dead and that she is royalty. Her whole world was changing. "Everything will be okay Jill. I promise."

"Oh Rose," Natalie said with a tone of mock disappointment. "You shouldn't make promises you can't keep.

I glared at Natalie and moved around in my seat a little bit. I didn't know how we were going to get out of this, but it was going to happen. I gasped when I felt something sharp poke me. I was still wearing the clothes I had entered the gym in, including the hoodie I had pulled over so I was unrecognizable as a girl. The strigoi hadn't thought to check me. I was a student. I really shouldn't be able to have any weapons. But they didn't take into account just how much Dimitri loved me. Enough to give me a stake to practice with and keep just in case. A stake I had been planning on using at practice. A stake that was now conveniently nestled in the hidden pocket inside Dimitri's hoodie.

Natalie stared at me when she heard my gasp. Thinking quickly, I glared at her. "What exactly did you hit me with?" I asked her. "Every time I move, my head feels like it's going to crack open."

Part of my mind was focusing on Natalie, but another part was thinking about how I can get us out of here. I knew it was possible now. I had never used it on a strigoi before, but Dimitri had complimented my abilities with the stake many times before. And I didn't need to kill them. Just distract them until we could get into the sunlight. This is where the problem occurred. I had no idea what time it was. I didn't know how long I was unconscious for. If it wasn't daytime, we didn't stand a chance. But we had to try.

I carefully started working my way out of the ropes that binded me. I had to be subtle about it. If either of the strigoi noticed what I was doing, I would be tied up with something I could break through.

Luck was on my side, for once. After about fifteen minutes of barely breathing for fear Natalie would notice what I was doing, I was out. I let the rope fall to the ground as I jumped to my feet. In one fluid motion, I pulled out the stake and sliced it down, cutting through part of the rope that bound Jill to her seat. I held it in front of my protectively as Jill got out of her own ropes.

We were free. Now for the hard part.


	18. Chapter 18

Dimitri's Point of View

I stared at Stan, hoping beyond hope that I had misheard him. He had called an emergency guardian meeting and every guardian on campus, including some of the elite that had just been flown in from Court were crammed into one of the conference halls. He had scheduled it to happen after night had fallen, close to when the sun would rise. It marked another day with Rose missing.

Stan had spent the first hour or so of the meeting explaining all the evidence we had found during the investigation. He made it sound like a trap as much as I had. That's why I hadn't been expecting the bombshell that we were going on a rescue mission despite, as Stan put it, "the imminent possibility of all our deaths."

I could practically feel Abe's eyes boring into the back of my head. He was well hidden in the back of the conference room. How he managed to escape the detection of every guardian in the room was beyond me, but nothing really surprised me when it came to Abraham Mazur.

Abe had arrived about three hours before the meeting had started. I debriefed him on everything that had happened. He was not happy. As soon as I had finished explaining what had happened, he was out, demanding more information about what was being done to rescue Jill and Rose. If anyone asked, he said he was Jill's uncle. Jill's parents who had arrived about twelve hours before Abe didn't stop him. He had told them that he was Robert's father and that he feared the guardians wouldn't give him any information if they knew that. Realizing that their daughter was the priority, they allowed him this luxury.

I think they felt guilty. This was the second time Rose had risked her life to protect Jill. Several unhappy mumbles pulled me from my reverie.

I knew better than to speak up and challenge Stan's decision. Thankfully, there was a newer guardian that was not quite that wise. "But that's suicide. We would be walking straight into a trap. Surely losing so many guardians isn't worth it. We never go on rescue missions. What makes this different?" Julius asked. Julius had only been here about a month and didn't quite understand how things worked yet. But I was happy he had spoken up. I wanted to hear Stan's rational behind this decision.

I was shocked when Stan was not one of the next people to speak. No, it was a new voice. One that had just entered the room. I would recognize this guardian anywhere. He had aged since I last saw him, over eight years ago when Ivan was visiting Court. But it was undeniably him. It was Head Guardian Hans Croft. At least now I knew why it had taken Stan so long to call the meeting. He had to consult with Hans. "This was not Stan's decision. Her Royal Majesty Queen Tatiana ordered it. All that matters is that Jillian Mastrano is safely retrieved. If we can, Robert Hemmingway will also be aided, but he is not the priority," Hans told us. I felt anger burn in the pit of my stomach. How dare he? Rose may not be a priority to him, but she is a priority to me. Just because she isn't a moroi doesn't mean she doesn't deserve help. But I kept those thoughts to myself. I was going to make sure Rose got out, whether Hans like it or not.

"What is so special about Jillian Mastrano?" Julius asked again.

"That is classified information," Hans told us. "Queen Tatiana will be visiting St. Vladimir's Academy after our mission is successful to have a meeting with all the guardians here about additional security for Jillian Mastrano and why that is necessary. But until she is here, I am not authorized to give you that information."

Several guardians gasped in unison. It wasn't unheard of for the queen to visit academies, but she had never taken interest in an academy that dhampirs attended. St. Vladimir's was the first to mix dhampirs and moroi, but it was still strange to think that she would be coming here.

Stan cleared his throat, causing silence to spread through the room. "Due to the sensitive nature of the mission, we will be leaving in about an hour to ensure we are back before sunset. We are to recover Jillian Mastrano as quickly as possible. Once we are outside of the caves, the strigoi will not be able to follow us. The guardians that have been selected will be given more details about what their specific responsibilities are. Now, if I call your name, you are dismissed. You will be staying at St. Vladimir's to ensure the protection of our students as well as to make sure the campus is secure for when we return with Jillian," Stan said. He began reading names off the list. I held my breath. Please don't say my name. Please don't say my name. I chanted over and over again.

When he finished reading the names off the list, I let out a sigh of relief that my name wasn't said. About three-quarters of the guardians in the room left. There were about fifteen of us left, including the guardians from Court. The plan was simple. We were going in the cave in three layers of four, leaving only three guardians remaining outside.

I wasn't surprised to know I wasn't going in the first squad. The first squad was responsible for creating as much of a distraction as possible. I was in the second squad, the one responsible for finding Jill and removing her from the caves as quickly as possible. The third squad would be shadowing us. They would combat any threats that directly attacked us. I understood the rationale behind this. The less my squad specifically had to deal with, the better chances of Jill surviving. The three guardians that were staying outside the caves were going to be the first to approach the caves. They were going to incapacitate or kill any look-outs that were stationed outside.

I really didn't care that if all went according to plan, I would almost be entirely removed from the battle. All that mattered was that this gave me the opportunity to get to Rose. And I would. I wasn't leaving without her. As Stan said, "rescue her or die trying." That's exactly what my intention was.

It felt like days had passed before we left. In reality it was only about an hour. I understood why we had to make the preparations we did. We had to be ready just in case Jill was injured or had been fed from. We had to make sure that our wards were reinforced. There was much to be done. But I was extremely relieved when we finally left.

It should only have taken us a matter of minutes to reach the entrance to the caves, but we trailed the shadows of the forest, taking whatever advantage we could get. Twelve of us stayed hidden in the shadows while three guardians crept to either side of the cave. They carefully trailed the walls of the cave. We couldn't really see exactly what they were doing, but we could see when they gave us the signal. There were no lookouts. Which either meant they noticed us before, or the strigoi really were gone.

The first squad started to move out of the shadows. My squad was right behind them. When we were only a couple of feet from the caves, we all froze when two figures ran out. We were prepared for anything. For the humans or dhampirs that were rejecting the very essence of life to throw in their lot with strigoi. For some kind of threat.

We were expecting anything. Except what we saw.


	19. Chapter 19

Rose's Point of View

After being blindsided by strigoi so many times, I almost got a sense of satisfaction when I saw the shocked expression on Natalie's face. But even her shock didn't compare to the other strigoi's. As a general rule, strigoi didn't get surprised. Unless of course, the captive that shouldn't have been a threat, suddenly was a threat.

I knew I wouldn't have long until the strigoi got over the shock of me having a stake. I lunged at the strigoi, determined to make the best of their distraction. My stake found the heart I had so painstakingly practiced stabbing at practice hundreds of times before.

I was shocked when my stake slid past the barriers that protected the heart. I think the only person more shocked than I was, was the strigoi that I had just killed. It was the first strigoi I had killed with a stake.

The strigoi fell to the ground, taking my stake with it. It was almost harder to pull my stake out of the strigoi than it had been to thrust it in. I still couldn't believe it. It was supposed to be difficult. Nearly impossible to kill a strigoi. But I had just done it. I remembered what Dimitri told me. Surprise is the biggest advantage I could have. Clearly he was right.

I slight movement startled me out of my thoughts. I had taken too long. Natalie wasn't moving towards me, not yet. It was more like she was assessing me, considering me as more of a threat than she had previously.

Part of me wanted to stay and fight Natalie. I wanted to kill her, to prove to myself that I could. Prove that I could look past that she used to be a moroi and kill her. She was a strigoi, the world would be better without her. If it was just me, I would probably would have tried. But I knew I couldn't. It was one of the first things Dimitri taught me. I have a moroi to protect. My responsibility isn't to kill Natalie and risk Jill's life. I have to run to safety.

So that's what I did. I grabbed Jill's arm. I almost felt bad when Jill let out a surprised squeal as I jerked her arm to pull her behind me as I cautiously walked towards the exit. I had taken too long to come up with this plan. Natalie had finished her assessment and clearly had a plan of her own.

I had no idea how we were going to get out of this. I just knew that if all else failed, I could create one hell of a distraction.

Keeping Jill behind me, I walked backwards into the tunnel. It was remarkably difficult. You see this kind of thing all the time in the movies. An insane escape attempt pulled off with ease. It's not like that in real life. I kept bumping into the rough walls as the tunnel became narrower. My elbows were all scraped up and if Jill's constant groans were anything to go on, so were hers. And it wasn't as easy to walk backwards in a winding tunnel as you would think. It really impairs your sense of direction not to see what your about to walk over. I also kept bumping into Jill. It's a miracle I didn't knock her over or cause her to trip. On top of that, I had to keep one eye on Natalie.

I didn't know what her plan was. Perhaps it was nighttime and she was trying to lull us into a false sense of security that we were on our way to safety. Perhaps it was something else. Whatever it was, Natalie never got close enough to attack us or be attacked herself.

I wasn't going to initiate the attack. And maybe that's what she was waiting for. After nearly an hour of the winding and narrow tunnel had passed, I heard Jill gasp, breaking the atmosphere that had been building between me and Natalie.

"What is it?" I asked her anxiously, trying to ignore my fatigue. It was no joke, being on your guard, stake raised for over an hour. I refused to turn around unless absolutely necessary. One tiny lapse in judgment and Jill could be killed.

"I see the sun," Jill said excitedly.

That's when Natalie chose to lunge at me. I blocked her attack as best as I could, but I was still thrown back several feet. The wall was the only reason I remained upright. I knocked Jill back. "You listen to me. Run to the sunlight, don't stop, don't worry about me," I told her. I grunted as one of Natalie's kicks hit their mark. I knew it was in my head, but I felt as if I could feel my knee swelling. "Go Jill!"

I could hear her footsteps as she ran towards the light. I was barely able to stop Natalie from getting past me to Jill. I knew this wasn't about me. I had just been an added bonus. It had always been about Jill. About the last Dragomir.

I didn't dare continue as I had before. I was afraid that if I kept working my way back, Natalie would get around me. I needed to keep Jill safe. She was Lissa's half-sister. She was the last hope for the Dragomir line. Even if it meant my own death, she needed to survive.

As Jill got closer to the light, Natalie began to fight more ferociously. Natalie was a new strigoi so she had speed and strength, but she wasn't as coordinated and practiced as an older strigoi would be. She didn't know what to do with the tools she was given.

She also fought with a range that made her borderline reckless. Her moves were easy to block and left her open for attacks. I didn't dare take the opportunity for an attack. Not until Jill was safely in the sunlight.

I could tell the exact moment that Jill crossed into safety, because Natalie snarled and fought with a blind rage I hadn't seen in her previously. I couldn't have gotten to her chest, even if I wanted to. I scraped my stake down her arm. Natalie cried out in pain. The magic and silver in the stake would no doubt feel like a burning sensation to her. It was incredibly painful for a strigoi to even be touched by a stake, nearly unbearable. That's why we used them.

Taking advantage of Natalie's pain, I ran backwards as quickly as possible. I didn't stop until I ran into something. Half expecting it to be another strigoi, I turned with my stake raised, ready to fight. I was shocked when the first thing I saw was the light pouring down on me. After being in a dark cave for at least two hours, my eyes needed to adjust to the light. I realized that it was Jill I had bumped into. We weren't at the exit to the cave yet. There was just a hole in the ceiling, about the size of a circular window that was illuminating a five foot expanse of the tunnel, separating Natalie from us. At least now I knew it was still daytime.

"This isn't over," Natalie warned us. She was staring at the light as if she were waiting for it to change. Then I realized that was possible. If the sun went behind a cloud, Natalie would be able to follow us in the safety of the darkness of the cave.

I looked at Jill and she looked at me worriedly. She had truly believed we were out of danger. "I know you're tired, but we have to run," I told her gently. My heart broke for her. She had to worry about the danger we were in, all the while she just found out her entire life was a lie. That wasn't easy for her.

She nodded at me determinedly. I squeezed her hand comfortingly and then we ran. The sun must have held up long enough, because after ten minutes of running, I didn't hear anyone following us. We could see a dot of light ahead and I prayed that it was our way out. I didn't know how much longer Jill would last, and I was pretty tired too.

We were in luck. As we got closer to the light, I could make out the greenish brown grass at the mouth of it. "This is it Jill. This will take us outside!" I told her excitedly. I half-expected Natalie to catch up to us, now that we were so close to freedom, but it didn't happen. We sprinted out into the sunlight. We were safe.


	20. Chapter 20

Dimitri's Point of View

I stared at Rose, wishing nothing more than to close the few feet between us and capture her in a hug and tell her that nothing would ever hurt her again. I settled for scouring every visible inch of her to make sure she was okay.

Her hand was tightly wrapped around a silver stake. I recognized that stake, recognized the markings on the side of it. It was one I had given to Rose when she had gotten used to practicing with a stake. I didn't know what had led her to having the stake when she was kidnapped, but I was grateful for it.

Her face was flushed and I could hear her ragged breathing from where I was standing. She looked completely exhausted.

Next to her, Jill looked about the same. She was sweating and her face was red. She looked as if she had run more than she ever had in her life, which judging by how tired Rose was, that was probably true.

Hans took a tentative step forward. "Jillian Mastrano?" Hans asked quietly so as not to startle them.

Rose took a step in front of Jill as if she were protecting her. "Call her by her real name," Rose said harshly. "I know you know it."

I was shocked. Rose was usually respectful to guardians, Stan being the exception. She probably recognized Hans. I knew Eric and Rhea used to take her to Court with Lissa. And even though it had been nearly five years since she had last gone there, I was sure she knew him. I don't know what got to her.

"And who are you?" Hans asked roughly.

"Robert Hemmingway," Rose said evenly. Her gaze didn't waver from Hans.

"Well, Mr. Hemmingway," Hans said. "You may not know who I am, but…"

Rose cut him off. "I know exactly who you are. You are Head Guardian Hans Croft," Rose told him matter of factly.

"Then you should know that my position demands a certain level of respect, particularly from mere novices," Hans said.

"And Jill's position doesn't?" Rose challenged. "Would you rather keep this dirty little secret and keep an entire Academy of guardians oblivious to the danger Jill will constantly be in?"

"How do you know?" Hans asked, his eyes widening. If the situation weren't so serious, I would have laughed at Hans being caught off guard.

"We both know," Rose told him angrily. "Turns out an Ivashkov close to Daniella turned strigoi. He knew the truth and now so do all the strigoi. And who do you think is their next target?"

Hans paled. "Are you sure?" Hans asked.

Rose nodded. "I never caught his name, but he's dead now. He was working with Natalie Dashkov," Rose explained. Rose turned her gaze to look at me. "She turned strigoi."

I sighed. I had known something like this was coming. I should have known Natalie wouldn't let this go. It had to have been her that wanted to kidnap Rose, but I still didn't understand what Jill had to do with all of this.

Hans heard my sigh and turned to me. "Guardian Belikov?" He asked.

"Natalie Dashkov attacked me and escaped from St. Vladimir's Academy three weeks ago," I explained. "Several guardians searched through the grounds and just outside the wards after she escaped. They believed she may have chosen this path, but until now, we didn't have any definite proof."

Hans nodded at me. "Mr. Hemmingway," Hans said slowly. "I wish to ask you to keep this information to yourself, just for the next week or so. Queen Tatiana Ivashkov will be coming to St. Vladimir's Academy to announce to the students and guardians some of the changes that will be happening here in light of Ms. Mastrano's identity. Please leave that to her."

An uncertain look came across Rose's face. I thought I could detect a faint hint of fear in her expression. I could understand that. Tatiana was the reason Rose had to pretend to be a boy to become a guardian. But I didn't understand anything else that was going on. Internally sighed. I guess I would just have to wait until Rose had a chance to tell me.

Rose chewed her lip for a moment before she nodded. "I won't tell anyone," she promised. I had to fight the smile that was threatening to spread across my face. I knew the silent message she included afterwards. She wasn't going to tell anyone except for me, Christian, and Lissa.

Hans nodded gratefully. "Now Mr. Hemmingway, Ms. Mastrano," Hans said. "We are going to take you back to St. Vladimir's so we can collect all the information about what happened between when you were kidnapped and now."

Hans didn't leave any room for argument. Rose and Jill were immediately taken away by two Court guardians. Hans and the rest of the Court guardians followed. I waited with the rest of my colleagues for Stan's instructions. It seemed Stan was at a loss. Usually it would be our responsibility to question the students in this situation, but all protocol had been thrown out the window when Court guardians had gotten involved.

"Head back," Stan ordered. "Resume your duties. I will contact you when I hear more about the Queen's arrival."

Silently, we headed back to the wards. I checked my watch. He said to resume my normal duties. My shift technically ended thirty minutes ago.

I went to the moroi dorm and quietly knocked on Lissa's door. I didn't want to attract unwanted attention. I just wanted to wake up Lissa and Christian.

Lissa opened the door, rubbing sleep from her eyes. I could see Christian sitting up in her bed, watching her curiously. They both looked shocked to see me. "Come with me," I told them.

"Dimitri, what's going on?" Lissa asked me confused.

"Just come with me. I'll explain when we get to my room," I told them urgently. We needed to get back before all the guardians resumed their posts. There would only be one guardian on duty in my building if we timed it properly.

Christian pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants and tossed Lissa one of his hoodies. They followed me out of Lissa's dormitory and back to my own. Luck was in my favor as we got to my room without passing a single guardian.

I let out a sigh of relief when the door closed behind me.

"Dimitri, what's going on?" Lissa asked me.

"We found her," I told her.


	21. Chapter 21

Rose's Point of View

When we got outside the caves, I just reveled in the feelings of accomplishment. It wasn't glorious, just as it hadn't been glorious when I killed the two strigoi when Mason died, but I was still proud of myself. I managed to keep Jill safe.

After I had taken a moment to catch my breath, I noticed we weren't alone. The first person I noticed was Dimitri. Despite the fact that there were several guardians between us, his was the first face I saw. The next thing I noticed was that there were several guardians that were definitely not from St. Vladimir's. The third thing I noticed was Hans. I recognized him from the trips I took to Court with Lissa and her parents. I knew he wouldn't recognize me. Out of respect for Lissa's parents I stayed out of trouble when we were at Court.

Hans took a step towards us. "Jillian Mastrano?" He asked. I could practically feel Jill freeze next to me. I had to force myself not to roll my eyes. He knew who she was. He wouldn't be here otherwise. I couldn't believe that he wasn't addressing her by her true name.

I stepped in front of Jill to show her that she was going to be okay. "Call her by her real name," I ordered. I tried to sound as bitchy as possibly without sounding like a girl. "I know you know it."

Hans's concerned expression immediately changed to disbelief and anger. "And who are you?" Hans asked me roughly. I guess showing him the same level of disrespect he was showing Jill didn't sit well with him

"Robert Hemmingway," I told him. I tried not to let him see how intimidated I was by him. If I managed to make it to graduation without being discovered, he would be the one to assign me. acting like this

"Well, Mr. Hemmingway," Hans said, I could see him struggling to stay calm. "You may not know who I am, but…"

It would be so easy. Pretend I didn't know who he was, apologize for being so disrespectful. But that wasn't in my nature. I cut him off. "I know exactly who you are. You are Head Guardian Hans Croft," I told him.

"Then you should know that my position demands a certain level of respect, particularly from mere novices," Hans said. Definitely angry now

"And Jill's position doesn't?" I asked him annoyed. I was so tired of the politics of the moroi world. I didn't care who Eric was. It didn't matter that he used to be the Dragomir prince. What he did shouldn't be kept from the moroi world just because he was royalty. "Would you rather keep this dirty little secret and keep an entire Academy of guardians oblivious to the danger Jill will constantly be in?"

"How do you know?" Hans asked. He looked legitimately surprised. Because it was supposed to be this big secret and I definitely wasn't supposed to know.

"We both know," I told him. "Turns out an Ivashkov close to Daniella turned strigoi. He knew the truth and now so do all the strigoi. And who do you think is their next target?" I could hear a slight sob from Jill. This was too much for her and I didn't blame her.

Hans looked at me worriedly. "Are you sure?" He asked. He sounded worried, but I wasn't ready to let him off the hook yet.

I nodded. "I never caught his name, but he's dead now. He was working with Natalie Dashkov," I told him. For the first time, I made eye contact with Dimitri. It was the first time I've seen him in three weeks. His face was neutral, but I could see the worry in his eyes. "She turned strigoi."

Dimitri sighed. He didn't look as surprised as I had felt when I first found out. I guess he had been expecting this. It made sense given that she attacked him to escape.

Hans turned to Dimitri. "Guardian Belikov?" He asked.

"Natalie Dashkov attacked me and escaped from St. Vladimir's Academy three weeks ago," Dimitri explained. I was glad Hans wasn't looking at me, because I couldn't help but wince when Dimitri said that. "Several guardians searched through the grounds and just outside the wards after she escaped. They believed she may have chosen this path, but until now, we didn't have any definite proof."

Hans nodded and turned back to me. I saw from his expression that he knew I wasn't going to like what he had to say. "Mr. Hemmingway," Hans said to me. "I wish to ask you to keep this information to yourself, just for the next week or so. Queen Tatiana Ivashkov will be coming to St. Vladimir's Academy to announce to the students and guardians some of the changes that will be happening here in light of Ms. Mastrano's identity. Please leave that to her."

I looked at Hans, trying to mask my worry. The queen was coming here. The queen who had deemed women to weak and dainty to fight the war against strigoi. The queen who had written a life for me that I never wanted. The queen who was the reason I may never be able to see my brothers again.

But I knew I had to agree. I had to give Jill that time to come to terms with the changes she was going to see in her life.

I finally nodded at Hans. "I won't tell anyone," I promised Hams. I wasn't going to tell anyone that would spread the news. But I was definitely going to tell Lissa. I wasn't going to have her blindsided when the queen announced this to the world. And I couldn't keep anything from Dimitri, but I could trust him

Hans nodded gratefully. "Now Mr. Hemmingway, Ms. Mastrano," He said to us. "We are going to take you back to St. Vladimir's so we can collect all the information about what happened between when you were kidnapped and now."

I had to resist the urge to groan. I didn't fight when we were practically dragged away by two guardians. I answered all their questions as best as I could, leaving out the reason I was kidnapped. I just wanted to have the chance to see Dimitri. It had been a long time. I would guess we were gone at least two days. And Dimitri had been gone for three weeks. It was a long time to go without seeing him.

When they told me that my molnija ceremony would happen in a week after the queen arrived, I was shocked. I wasn't able to move when they told me I was dismissed. Jill had to elbow me so I would move.

I stood up, feeling more like a robot than a person. Jill stood up behind me and followed me. A guardian joined us to escort Jill back to her dormitory.

Before we split up, Jill gave me a hug. "Thanks Rose," she whispered quietly so the guardian wouldn't be able to hear her.

"No problem," I whispered back.

We broke apart and Jill shot me a small smile before she was being whisked away.

I walked over to my dormitory, looking behind me every couple of seconds. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I felt like someone was watching me. I still had no idea who had kidnapped me. Strigoi couldn't get inside the wards so it had to have been someone else.

I was relieved when I finally got inside. Fueled by the fact that I was almost to Dimitri, I ran up the steps until I got to my floor. I didn't stop until I was outside Dimitri's room. I felt in my pocket and sighed when I realized I didn't have my key. I was going to have to tell Dimitri he needed to get his lock changed.

I knocked on the door, waiting impatiently for Dimitri to answer. Just as I was beginning to worry that he wasn't here, he finally answered his door. I didn't give him time to say anything, I just threw my arms around him. When he leant down, I stood up on my tippy toes to meet him his kiss.

I smiled into the kiss. I had missed this. The feeling of being whole that I always had when I was near him.

An uncomfortable cough broke our kiss. I looked over and was surprised to see Lissa and Christian here. I should have figured though. Of course Dimitri would have told them I was back.

"Can't this wait?" Christian asked.

"No," I told him stubbornly. I pulled Dimitri's head back down for a quick kiss. I had missed him so much.


	22. Chapter 22

Dimitri's Point of View

"You found her?" Lissa shrieked.

I quieted her and looked at my door anxiously. "Lissa, I know you're excited, but it's the middle of the night. I am breaking so many rules by having you here," Dimitri told her quietly.

"Right, what happened?" Lissa asked.

"I can't tell you a lot. I don't know what happened in the cave, but Rose escaped just as we were about to enter. She told me that Natalie turned strigoi," I told Lissa.

Lissa gasped and looked at me shocked. I knew that this would upset her. As insane as Natalie was, she was still Lissa's cousin.

"What else?" Lissa asked in a quiet voice.

"I honestly don't know. I haven't had a chance to talk to Rose," I admitted. "I only know what little she told Guardian Croft before she and Jill were taken away to be questioned."

"How long?" Lissa asked. "How long until she's done."

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "Probably another hour or so. I just knew that Rose is going to come here afterwards and I know she'll want to see you."

"Not as much as she'll want to see you," Lissa said, shaking her head at me. "You should have waited until morning to get us. You have no idea how much she's been moping because she wanted to see you." I frowned at the thought of Rose moping around. I should have known she would be walking around like the world was made out of butterflies and rainbows.

"We'll have all day tomorrow to talk. Evan is cancelling classes and Stan is letting all of the guardians that went on the rescue mission have the day off. But Rose knows something. Something big. And I know she won't want to wait to tell us," I explained.

"What do you mean?" Christian asked me confused.

"It's something about Jill, about why she was taken. Guardian Croft asked her not to say anything about it, but I know she'll tell us. That's why I brought you here," I told him.

Lissa just looked puzzled. She didn't know what Jill had to do with anything. "I guess we'll just have to wait," she said with a sigh.

Christian walked over to the desk chair. Lissa glanced at the bed then walked over to Christian and sat on his lap. I blushed as I realized why she would have avoided the bed. It was the same reason that Rose avoided the bed Christian and Lissa slept in.

I sat down on my bed and we waited. The minutes seemed to drag by. I kept expecting the door to burst open and for Rose to come charging in at any minute.

That didn't happen. I briefly wondered if Rose was going to go to Lissa's dorm first. That would make sense. Lissa was her best friend.

Just as I was about to suggest we go back to Lissa's room to check, there was a knock on my door.

I knew Rose had a key, so there was no reason for her to knock. I was worried it was Stan. I looked at Christian. Hide, I mouthed. He nodded and ducked in the corner behind my desk. Lissa crouched under my desk and brought the chair in front of her. If someone didn't know what they were looking for, they wouldn't notice them.

I opened the door and barely had time to react before Rose was throwing her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around her back and held her to me tightly. I leant down and she met me halfway in a kiss. It had been too long, far too long since we last saw each other. Really saw each other. We haven't really had any time to talk since before Natalie attacked me. I reveled in this. The last time we kissed, it had been when I was leaving. There was sorrow and longing in that kiss. But now? This was joyful. We were back together. And I was never going to be gone that long if I could help it.

Someone coughed, breaking our kiss. I glanced over to see Lissa and Christian had emerged from their hiding places. Lissa had a small smile on her face, while Christian was looking at the ground uncomfortably.

"Can't this wait?" Christian asked us. I was starting to think asking Christian and Lissa to come here may have been a mistake.

"No," Rose told him. She pulled my head down towards hers and I did not resist. She broke the kiss too soon and I could see longing in her eyes that matched my own.

She sighed and pulled away from me. She turned to look at Lissa.

"Liss, you will want to sit down," Rose warned her, her face grave.

I stared at Rose confused. She was being completely serious as if she were about to deliver life-changing news. Lissa looked at Rose concerned, but listened to her and took a seat in the chair by the desk.

Rose never took her eyes off of Lissa as she explained what had happened in the caves. She explained seeing Natalie as a strigoi and killing the other strigoi. She told of her escape and finally being interviewed by Hans. She also told us that the queen was going to be there for her molnija ceremony. Rose said a lot without giving us much detail.

Rose bit her lip before she explained why Jill had been kidnapped. "Liss, the strigoi took Jill for a reason. Natalie took me for her petty revenge, but Jill was another story entirely. The strigoi I killed, he was Daniella Ivashkov's cousin in law. You know how Daniella was very close with your father?" Rose asked.

Lissa nodded confused. "Yes, but what does that have to do with Jill?" Lissa asked confused. "Daniella was practically his cousin."

"Fourteen years ago, your father had an affair with another moroi. She got pregnant. Her daughter was Jill," Rose said quietly and slowly, gauging Lissa's reaction. I stared at Rose, my eyes nearly popping out of my head. It couldn't be true, but I knew Rose wouldn't lie about this. And now her conversation with Hans made sense. "Jill is your father's illegitimate daughter. She's your half-sister Liss."


	23. Chapter 23

Rose's Point of View

I stared at Lissa, waiting for her to move or breath, or have some kind of reaction. She was really worrying me. I know this was a major bombshell to drop on her, but I don't think she would have ever forgiven me if I had let Tatiana's big announcement in front of everyone, be the way she found out about Jill.

I looked at Dimitri concerned, silently begging him for help. But I think Dimitri was still trying to process the information I had just shared.

"Liss?" I asked quietly. "Please say something. Anything."

Lissa opened and closed her mouth several times, unable to form a sentence. I saw the signs through the bond, so I knew exactly when she was going to burst into tears. I got there just in time and wrapped my arms around her. I soothingly patted her back. This reminded me of the days when we were still in Ambel, when Lissa was still struggling with the magic she possessed. In a way, I missed those days. I didn't miss the effect Lissa's magic had on her, but I missed how easy it was. There was no complications of an adulterous father or having to keep up the pretense of being a boy. In a way, it was simpler.

"Shhh," I told her quietly. "Everything will be okay. You just have to calm down Liss."

"I-I-I c-c-can't," Lissa sobbed. "I-I-I n-n-never thought m-m-my father would d-d-do something l-l-like this!"

"I know Liss," I told her quietly. "I hadn't expected it either. But he made one mistake. He probably had too much to drink one night and he clearly regretted it. I think… I think Rhea might have known. They just wanted to keep it from everyone else. Eric wouldn't have been able to move enough money to let Jill grow up comfortably without letting Rhea know. And I'll bet he regretted it. Don't let this tarnish your memory of your father. He loved you and your brother and your mother very much. He just made a mistake."

"A mistake? How do you accidentally sleep with someone?" Lissa asked incredulously. She took deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Do you regret sleeping with Aaron?" I asked her seriously.

Lissa blushed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Christian look down at the floor. "Yes," she whispered. "I wish I had waited for Christian, but Rose. I wasn't married," Lissa pointed out.

"Okay, maybe that's a bad example, but you know what I mean. Everyone does something they regret in their lifetimes. Sometimes the consequences of that are little and sometimes they're big… in the form of a secret sister," I said quietly. "But you have to look at the good that's going to come out of this. Liss, she was kidnapped because she is a second chance for the Dragomir line. You and Christian can be together without worrying about being the end of the Dragomirs."

Lissa looked up at me shocked. "I hadn't thought of that," she whispered.

"I know it doesn't change what your father did. And it doesn't make anything easier, but it's something," I told her quietly. "And Liss, Jill knows. You're going to have to talk to her eventually."

"I don't think I'm ready for that," Lissa said, looking terrified at the idea of having to talk to Jill.

"And you don't have to be," I told her gently. "But if possible, try and do it within the week. The queen is going to announce to the entire academy that Jill is a Dragomir. It's going to be important that you and Jill show that you aren't surprised by this. That the Dragomir line is stronger than ever. And keep in mind, that as hard as this is for you, it's harder for Jill."

"How do you figure that?" Lissa asked bitterly. I was surprised by what I felt through the bond. Lissa didn't think Jill had a right to be upset by this.

"Liss," I said sharply. "You're allowed to be upset. But just because you are upset doesn't mean no one else can be. Jill went fourteen years of her life believing her father was some moroi that didn't want her. And now she finds out she is royalty. You grew up being royal. You know better than anyone the corrupt political game they play. Jill is new to all of that. One day, she was an ordinary moroi and the next, she is royalty. Can you imagine how difficult this may be for her? Her mother lied to her, her entire life. Her entire life is changing. Your life isn't going to change. It's going to go on as it always has. You just have a sister."

Lissa's feelings immediately changed from anger to overwhelming guilt. I had been too harsh on her. "Liss," I said apologetically. "I'm sorry. I said that all wrong. I know it's hard on you. I know that your father lied to you as well. I don't want you to feel guilty. I just want you to realize that Jill is struggling with this too."'

Lissa nodded. "I will talk to her Rose, I promise," Lissa told me seriously. "I'm just not ready for that. Not yet at least."

"Like I said, you have time. I just think it would be better if you did it before the queen came. Jill is going to need someone when that happens. She doesn't know how to play the game most of the royals play. She'll need someone to help her and you're the only one that can do it," I told her.

Lissa nodded. "I know. And I will help her. She… She's my sister after all," Lissa said. Boy, that was not easy for her to say out loud.

I gave her a quick hug before I pulled away from her. "Now, I think you should try to get some sleep," I suggested. I didn't really think she was going to get much sleep, but I knew Christian would be able to help her through this.

Lissa nodded and looked behind her at Christian. The look on her face broke my heart. She looked broken. Christian walked over to her and kissed her cheek. "Let's go get some sleep Liss," he said softly.

He led her out the door, no doubt going to the room he was assigned to. I could already feel Lissa's emotions calming down thanks to Christian. I turned to Dimitri.

He looked at me. "Are you alright?" He asked me worriedly.

"Of course," I told him. I was sure he could see through my false bravado.

"Rose, I know all of this has to be hard on you too. Eric and Rhea were practically your parents too," Dimitri pointed out. "And you killed a strigoi today. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine Dimitri, I really am," I told him. I was a little shaky, but I was better now.

"Rose," Dimitri said to me in his cut-it-out voice.

"What do you want me to say Dimitri?" I asked him slightly harshly. "Do you want me to say that I can't believe that Eric betrayed Lissa and Rhea this way? Or that I feel so bad for Jill because her entire world is changing? Or how scared I am to have the queen at my molnija ceremony?"

"That's exactly what I want you to tell me," Dimitri told me gently.

"Can I tell you what I feel the most right now?" I asked him. Dimitri nodded and looked at me curiously. "I've spent over three weeks away from my amazing boyfriend between him getting injured and my getting kidnapped. I feel guilty, because I am so happy to see him that I don't have enough room to feel bad for Lissa and Jill."

"Roza," Dimitri said, looking at me sadly. "It's alright to be happy. I was so happy to see you when you got out of the caves that I didn't care if Jill was alright. I didn't have room to worry about her."

"I really missed you," I whispered to him, stepping into his embrace. We fit together like a puzzle piece.

"I missed you too," he whispered back. Dimitri leaned down and captured my lips in a kiss. We weren't going to break this kiss. It was time that we felt whole again.


	24. Chapter 24

Dimitri's Point of View

As we lay together in my bed hours later, Rose snuggled into my chest as she slept, I still couldn't believe what had happened. I couldn't believe that Jill was a Dragomir. This changed everything.

I tried to fall asleep. It had been over thirty-six hours since I last slept, but my mind didn't want to accept that I needed sleep. It was buzzing with everything that Rose had told me. Every time I was close to sleep, something would pull me away. I would worry about Rose and how she was going to handle both Natalie being a strigoi and her strigoi kill. I would worry about Lissa and Jill and how they are going to handle being sisters. And oddly enough, several times, I woke up worried that Stan was going to fire me because I lost my spare key and needed a lock change. That was a strange one, because I was one of the only guardians that hadn't yet needed a lock change. They all lost their keys at some point.

It wasn't until Rose woke up, in the middle of the night for humans, midday for vampires, that I managed to fall asleep. "Can you turn your brain off?" She asked me grumpily. "It won't let me sleep."

"Huh?" I asked her confused.

"Dimitri, you keep moving around, trying to get more comfortable. I've been through a traumatic experience, according to Hans. I need my sleep," Rose mumbled sleepily. "So turn off your brain for a few hours and get some sleep."

I chuckled. Rose was still half-asleep. "I wish I could Roza," I told her amused. "But my brain doesn't have an on-off switch. I want to go to sleep, but it won't let me." Rose grumbled and mumbled about injustices of the world. She stretched her arms and yawned loudly. "What are you doing?"

"Well if you're not going to sleep, neither am I apparently," Rose said, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Rose," I said in a chastising voice. She was going to be grumpy all day if she didn't sleep.

"Don't you 'Rose' me," she warned. "Besides. Now my sleep schedule won't get all messed up. You can talk to Stan about getting a new key and then we can train for a little bit. Then, when the sun rises we can go to sleep."

I looked at her exasperatedly. "Rose, I'm pretty sure you still have a concussion. There's no way you are training until you've seen the nurse and are cleared to do so," I warned. I had been expecting it, so I wasn't surprised when she shot me an annoyed look.

"Comrade, I'm fine," she told me with a sigh.

"Alright then. Shake your head," I told her.

She glared at me. She shook her head and immediately had to put her hand down on the bed to stabilize herself. Concussions were no joke and I knew her vision was still a little off. Add shaking her head and she was probably really dizzy right now. "Right. We're going to the nurse now. Get dressed. While you're being examined I'll file the paperwork for a lock change." I stood up and walked over to my wardrobe. I pulled out a t-shirt, a loose-fitting pair of running-shorts, and a pair of boxers. I put them on my bed and grabbed my towel.

"Dimitri," Rose complained. "I can't just sit around and do nothing. I need to stay active and train."

I chuckled to myself. "Rose, you're not going anywhere near that gym, but that doesn't mean that you aren't going to remain active," I told her with a wink. I walked into my bathroom, musing at how much Rose has changed me. I am so much more confident in myself now. Saying something like that just over a year ago, would have mortified me. Rose has given me someone I can be comfortable with, someone I can be myself with. Rose has seen me at my best and at my worst. And somehow she still loves me. Which I am extraordinarily grateful for.

I showered quickly and when I got out, Rose was lazing around in a towel with her clothes in a pile next to her. "Took you long enough," she teased. She always did. I took showers that she deemed incredibly short, so she always made fun of me for it.

I rolled my eyes. "Go take your thirty minute shower," I told her, with a small smile on my face. I couldn't believe that anyone could take such a long shower when she first started showering here. It was one of those things you just got used to.

"Are you sure I could handle it? It might be too physically exerting. I don't know if I'll be able to lift my soap," she said sarcastically.

"Rose, if you can't shower, then you definitely can't do anything… more physically exerting," I pointed out.

"Fine," Rose grumbled, walking towards the bathroom. "No training."

I grinned victoriously. I dressed while she showered and sat down on my bed. I felt incredibly refreshed after my shower. I waited patiently and sure enough, it was over thirty minutes before Rose emerged.

She walked over to our bed and started to get dressed. She took almost as long to get dressed as she did to shower. I would never understand. When she had finally finished I kissed her gently and we left my room to go to the nurse.

When we got to the nurse, I fabricated a story about how Robert and I had been training and Robert was complaining about how his head still hurt. The nurse said she would examine him and I left to go to Stan's office.

I got the paperwork and filled it out. After I submitted it, I knocked on Stan's door. I wanted to ask him to get my lock changed sooner rather than later. I scoured every inch of that gym and there was no key in there. So either, it fell out between the gym and the cave, or whoever kidnapped Rose had it. That wasn't a risk I could take.

When Stan told me to enter, I did so. "Guardian Belikov," Stan said surprised.

"Guardian Alto," I said respectfully. "I just wanted to notify you that I just submitted the paperwork for a lock change."

"Okay?" Stan said confused.

"I believe that whoever kidnapped Ms. Mastrano and Mr. Hemmingway may have taken my key," I explained. "It's my spare key that went missing and I haven't used that since I got it at the beginning of this year. I don't wish to give someone capable of kidnapping and attempted murder, access to my room."

"I understand," Stan said, nodding his head. "I'll ensure that your lock is changed tomorrow morning when classes are in session. You will have to pick up your keys from this office after you are done with your shift."

I nodded gratefully. "Thank you," I told him.

He waved his hand as a dismissal. I left his office and went straight back to the nurse. Rose was sitting in her office with an unhappy expression on her face. When the nurse saw me, she explained that Rose had a minor concussion. She needed to rest for three days and then she could practice, but it wouldn't be able to be anything really over-exerting. After two weeks, she could practice normally again.

As I walked Rose back to our dorm, I tried to make her feel better. "Look at the bright side Rose," I told her. "You'll be better by Christmas and then by the time your field experience comes around, you'll be in top shape."

"Yeah, yeah," Rose said, trying to hide her smile. I knew she was excited for field experience. Generally bringing it up was an instant mood improvement for her.

When we got back to my room, I sat down on my bed and looked at my watch. "Well, we've still got hours to kill before it's time for bed. Whatever shall we–" I didn't get to finish my question, because I was cut off by Rose's lips on mine. The nurse's warnings about not over-exerting her flew out the window. After all, the nurse only said Rose couldn't do strenuous training. And this most definitely wasn't training.


	25. Chapter 25

Rose's Point of View

The week that passed before the queen came flew by. Everything seemed to be rushed. The guardians rushed classes so they could leave us to individual practice and they could go complete something that needed to be done. The wards were being reinforced every day and there was so much to do, that even the moroi teachers had their hands full. There were so many preparations being made for the queen's arrival that classes were cancelled the last two days before she arrived.

Despite all my free time, I barely got to spend time with Dimitri. He was always in a meeting about this or a meeting about that. They had to discuss new schedules for the time that the queen would be here. They were maximizing security while she was here, which meant Dimitri was pretty much on shift with the exception of when he was sleeping. They also had to go over the itinerary for the queen's stay. The queen had already scheduled a meeting with all the guardians and arranged an assembly for the entire school. Also, my molnija ceremony was scheduled. Apparently the queen wanted to meet me. Ironic considering I was a girl breaking the laws she created to become a guardian.

I also got to have an extremely uncomfortable conversation with Jill and her mother. Jill was still ignoring her mother, who instead of apologizing when Jill had confronted her about Eric Dragomir, reacted defensively. I didn't blame either of them for their reactions. I just felt that both of them needed to apologize for what they had said to the either, but they were too proud to do so. Not that I was one to talk. I would be acting the same if I were in either of their shoes.

It was when I was sitting in Lissa's room, as I had been pretty much the entire week, when we heard it. The unmistakable sounds of a jet. My eyes widened as I looked at Lissa. She looked just as surprised as I did. The queen wasn't supposed to be here for several more hours. Dimitri had told me that she would be arriving just after the sunset.

It was only about 2:00 in the afternoon, human time. Even in the wintertime, the sun didn't set until five or six. I could hear bustling through the hallways as teachers and students alike rushed to see the queen landing. This was the first time something really exciting happened at St. Vladimir's – well something that was a good exciting.

"Um… Should we?" I asked her uncertainly. I wasn't really sure if we should go see this. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go see this. It's one thing to know the queen is coming, but an entirely different thing to see it happening. I wasn't sure I was ready for this.

Lissa bit her lip guiltily. I knew what she was thinking. She was a Dragomir. It would be expected for her to be there. But she didn't want me to do something I was uncomfortable with.

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to mentally prepare myself for what was coming. "Let's go," I said.

Lissa chuckled. "Don't sound so eager Rose," she teased me as she grabbed her jacket. I put on my own baggie hoodie and rolled my eyes at Lissa. She knew why I was so nervous and I appreciated that she wanted to alleviate some of the tension of the situation.

I was silent as we walked to the tarmac that the queen would be landing at. Lissa more than made up for it by talking about our winter break. She was talking about us spending the day at the spa and getting manicures and pedicures. Part of me was grateful for her continuous talking, but another part of me wished she would just shut up so I could wallow in misery and fear. The part of me that was grateful won out and I listen to her ramble on as we walked.

When we got there, Lissa's voice trailed off mid-sentence. I have to admit, my jaw dropped as well. The queen's jet was huge. It was almost as large as a small airplane. That's what I would have thought it was if I didn't know that it was her private jet.

It took almost twenty minutes for the jet to land. The guardians had to make sure the premise was safe and the runway was clear.

When it finally landed, five guardians got out first. I didn't know their names, but I knew who they were. The small red pin clipped to the uniform that all guardians wore spoke volumes. They were the personal guardians of the queen.

Their skills were legendary. They could take out a threat before it became a threat. They were the deadliest guardians in the vampire world. The queen had about thirty guardians that were responsible for around the clock protection. They generally had shorter shifts that regular guardians, but that was because there were so many of them and defending the queen was a demanding job. They didn't just have to take out threats that were strigoi. They had to fight moroi and dhampirs as well. And they wouldn't hesitate to do so.

After the five members of the queen's guard stepped out, it was the queen's turn. I was shocked by how… normal she looked. Aside from the thin golden crown entwined in her hair, there was nothing too flashy. Her hair was braided into a bun, but nothing over the top. She wasn't in a fancy dress as I had expected. Instead, she was in black pants. I couldn't see the shirt she was wearing as it was hidden by a fancy green coat that no doubt cost more than a guardian makes in a year. She was dressed like an ordinary royal. I don't know why, but part of me expected her to be dressed in a ball gown made of diamond or something like that.

After the queen, five more members of the royal guard followed her. I wasn't surprised to see she had brought ten guards with her. She no doubt wanted the additional protection despite the fact that St. Vladimir's was swarming with guardians. The two guest rooms that weren't occupied by my father and Jill's parents, were filled with guardians that had been flown in for added protection.

The queen barely acknowledged the students that gathered to catch a glimpse of her. A small wave and she was gone.

I sighed and looked away. I know she didn't mean anything by it. She's probably exhausted. But I took it personally. She obviously didn't have time to say anything to us. We're only students. Not worth her time.

To me it was symbolic. She didn't care about my life. Didn't care that she had planned a life for me that I never wanted. She would never take the time to consider that isn't how my life should be. It seemed no matter what, I would never be worth her time. And until I realized that, I never realized how much I wanted it.


	26. Chapter 26

Dimitri's Point of View

I barely saw Rose five minutes in the week before the queen came. Every guardian picked up an additional shift each day and we were piled with work to do. Most of the time, Rose was asleep when I got back to our room and I had to leave before she woke up.

It was the day that the queen was to arrive and Stan got a phone call that had all the guardians scrambling to finish all the last minute preparations. We had been expecting to have another ten hours to finish everything for the queen's arrival. However, at about 10:00 am, human time Stan got a message from one of the queen's guardians that the queen would be arriving six hours ahead of schedule. Suddenly, there was a mad dash to finish everything.

I contemplated letting Rose know, but I didn't want her to spend the next four hours being anxious for her arrival. I knew she wasn't asleep right now, and was no doubt keeping Lissa up.

I had never been so exhausted when the destination time finally arrived. I felt as if I could fall asleep where I stood. There had been so much work to do that I had gotten about thirty hours of sleep total this past week. Couple that with the fact that I'm still on medication for the tendon in my ankle and I was absolutely miserable.

When I finally heard the jet, I couldn't help but smile. I would have a couple hours off once she landed. I stood outside in a line with several other guardians. We were keeping the runway clear and searching for any threats that could possibly turn up. As students started turning up, I realized Rose wasn't the only one that would be awake in anticipation of the queen. A lot of the students were excited for this.

I could see the anticipation in many of their faces as the jet started to touch down. I looked around and I saw Rose. I don't think she noticed me. She was staring right at the door of the jet as if it held all the evils in the world.

I forced myself to look away from her and focus on the queen.

It was quick. The guardians wanted to get her to the safety the buildings would provide as soon as possible.

Once we got her inside, she whispered something to one of her personal guardians. Four guardians escorted her to the guest lodgings she would be staying in while the one she had whispered to, whispered something to Stan. I felt like I was in school again and everyone was whispering about some big secret that I wasn't let it on. Ironic, considering I was the only Academy guardian that actually knew what the queen was going to be speaking to us about.

After that, all the queen's guardians left, leaving Stan to speak to us. He really didn't say much. Just that we had eight hours off so the queen could rest. Stan ran off once he dismissed us, no doubt needed to catch up with the court guardians and explain the security measures we were taking.

I went back to my room exhausted. I wasn't surprised to see that Rose wasn't there. She was probably with Lissa and Christian. My phone buzzed, letting me know I had a text message.

Get some sleep. I'll see you during my molnija ceremony.

Part of me was upset that I wasn't going to be able to see her, but another part of me knew it was for the best. I was too tired that it wouldn't do any good. And she was right. Her molnija ceremony was happening right before our meeting. All the guardians and teachers would be there.

I stripped down to my boxers and pulled on a pair of pajama pants. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I woke up to complete darkness. I blinked my eyes sleepily and waited for them to adjust. I rolled over, intending to stretch, but instead, I rolled right onto something soft.

"You know Comrade, there are better wake-up calls," Rose told me jokingly.

I sat up and stared at her. "When did you get here?" I asked her shocked.

"A few hours ago. You were really tired. I didn't want to wake you," she told me.

"What time is it?" I asked her.

"Around seven," she told me. "You finally got a good night's sleep." I chuckled. It was a sign of how little I had been sleeping that six hours of sleep was a good night's sleep.

"I guess I did," I agreed. I felt more refreshed than I had felt in days.

"So, we have two hours to kill before my molnija ceremony. What's on the agenda?" Rose asked me with a small grin.

"You know, I was thinking of staying in bed," I told her as I leaned over her. I gently pressed my lips to hers. "What do you think of that?"

"I think I agree with you one hundred percent," Rose said, leaning up to close the gap between our lips.

Two hours later, we emerged from my room. I had fully taken advantage of my time off. I walked over to the auditorium, Rose was a couple of feet in front of me. She disappeared into the auditorium and I waited a moment before entering myself. The auditorium is where the queen would be meeting with the guardians and staff of St. Vladimir's Academy. I arrived five minutes early, so naturally I was one of the last guardians to arrive. The auditorium was crowded and noisy. Everyone was talking about what they believed the queen wanted to say to us. There had been much speculation in the last week about why Jill was so important. I had done my best to stay out of conversations like that.

I knew everyone was going to be shocked by what the queen was going to tell us. Their guesses weren't even close to the truth.

There was silence as the tattoo artist guided Rose to a chair. She had gotten her hair cut again this past week so it would be out of the way for her molnija ceremony. The queen sat to the side and watched as the molnija mark was tattooed on her neck next to the other two she had received. It only took a couple of minutes before it was over. Afterwards, as was tradition, all the guardians either shook her hand or said something to her.

What came as a shock was when the queen stood up and shook her hand. "I expect great things from you," the queen told her loudly.


	27. Chapter 27

Rose's Point of View

My molnija ceremony flew by. I nearly died when the queen told me she expected great things from me. If only she knew.

After everyone had spoken to me or shaken my hand, I was escorted out of the auditorium. I wandered back to the room I shared with Dimitri. I knew he was going to be in that meeting for a long time. Once the initial news was revealed they were going to discuss what the plan for ensuring Jill's safety is.

It was when I was about to enter my building that I saw it. Several feet away from me was Mason. He was a washed out color as if he had been repainted then left out in the sun too long and had faded. But it was undeniably him. Still in the clothes he had died in. The faded blue jeans and pale red t-shirt. Somehow I couldn't remember if his clothes had been that pale in real life. I figured they had probably been brighter. Just like his red hair, which was barely indistinguishable now. You used to walk into a room and be able to find Mason by his hair. His blue eyes looked nearly grey.

He look miserable. My eyes widened. This wasn't possible. I blinked and he was gone. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take deep, calming breaths. Mason could not be here. He died. I had watched him. There was no way he could be here. But I saw him. He was there. The word "ghost" danced in my head, but I pushed it away. I was weird enough without having to worry about seeing ghosts.

I walked up the stair until I got to Dimitri's room. By the time the door closed behind me, I managed to convince myself that I was just seeing things because I was so tired. I hadn't slept well since I got back with Jill and that was enough to mess with anyone's head.

I crawled into Dimitri's bed and didn't even remember falling asleep. I must have slept through the rest of the night and all day, because when Dimitri woke me up, the sun was setting. "Classes start again today," he reminded me.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked him, staring out the window.

"I didn't want to wake you and we've been so busy preparing for the assembly with the queen. I think she's intentionally putting it off at this point. She just decided that she wanted to treat the students to a nice banquet. Then she will reveal the news. In a speech after dinner," Dimitri told me, rolling his eyes. "The assembly has been pushed off to tomorrow."

"I can't believe I slept so long," I moaned. I looked back out the window. It was early in the moroi world. Too early for classes, which meant… I nearly jumped out of bed in excitement. "We're training again!" I nearly squealed. It had been a long, long time since I had gotten to train with Dimitri. Over a month between my being kidnapped and his going home because of his injury.

Dimitri chuckled. "Why can't you be this excited about waking up for training every day?" He asked me amused.

"Can you imagine how out of shape we've gotten?" I asked him. "You went an entire month without working out and I've gone a month without anything outside of classes. Not good Comrade. Not good."

I was in such a hurry, I think I took longer to get everything on. I kept getting caught on something and even put my shirt on backwards the first time. When I finally pulled on Dimitri's hoodie, Dimitri was sitting on our bed, shaking with silent laughter.

"Oh shut up," I muttered under my breath. Dimitri stood up and walked towards the door. He always went out first. Had to make sure the coast was clear. Dimitri cleared his throat. His signal that there wasn't anyone out there. If he coughed, that meant there was someone walking through the hallway.

I quickly left his room and we made our way to the gym. We were only a couple of feet from the gym when I saw it. I could feel the blood draining from my face. I couldn't blame it on sleep deprivation this time. I had slept nearly twenty-four hours.

I couldn't think of any excuse for seeing Mason again. There was slightly more light shining on him, which only emphasized how pale he was. He looked more like a ghost today, more haunted. He was moving his mouth as if he were trying to tell me something, but I didn't know what it could be. I couldn't tell. Dimitri shook my shoulders, pulling me away from Mason. When I looked back, he was gone.

"What was that?" Dimitri asked me.

I shook my head. I hated keeping secrets from Dimitri, but he would think I was going crazy if I told him. That was the last thing I needed right now. "It was nothing," I told him.

"Is something wrong with Lissa?" He asked me worriedly.

I nearly smiled at the excuse he set me up for. "No. She and Christian are just… You know, I don't want to talk about it," I told him, allowing a look of disgust to settle on my face. I didn't have to fake it. I was disgusted with myself. I felt so guilty. Dimitri never lied to me, he never kept stuff like this from me. Yet, here I was lying to him about something this trivial.

He probably wouldn't judge me or think I was crazy. He would try to find some other rational explanation that didn't involve me simply seeing ghosts. Just as I had made up my mind to tell him the truth, Dimitri decided to change the subject and talk about what we would be doing at training. I think Dimitri noticed how distracted I was while we were working out, but he didn't say anything. I was even more shocked when he cancelled our afternoon training.

I understood though. He was working so much more now that the queen was here. He probably needed a break.

I went to all of my classes, barely even registering what the teachers were talking about. I was too distracted. I couldn't get Mason out of my head. As much as I wanted to believe this wasn't real, I knew in my gut that it was really him. I just didn't know why.

Why now?

When I finally got back to my room that night, I was relieved. I had spent the evening with Lissa, trying to do the homework for material I had been too distracted to learn today.

And then when I had decided to go back, it seemed like every dhampirs on my floor needed to use the bathroom. It took me nearly thirty minutes of entering and leaving the room I shared with Christian before I could finally get into Dimitri's room.

All thoughts of sleep vanished when I walked in to see Dimitri sitting on our bed with a disappointed look on his face.

"Dimitri?" I asked uncertainly. "What's wrong?"

He looked up at me. My stomach swirled under his glare as guilt washed over me. "Why don't you tell me what really happened this morning?" Dimitri asked me. His tone wasn't angry, it was disappointed. And that was much, much worse.


	28. Chapter 28

Dimitri's Point of View

I looked at Rose expectantly. I was upset with her, but mostly I was confused. Rose never had a problem being honest with me. We had agreed long ago that we wouldn't keep anymore secrets from each other. I wanted to know what could be bad enough that she would have to lie.

"I… I told you," Rose told me, looking at the floor.

I almost wanted to yell at her. This wasn't like her. She wasn't supposed to be like this, not with me. I was supposed to be the person that she could trust unconditionally. I feared that I had done something to change that. "The funny thing is, I talked to Christian today," I told her. I was proud of how calm my voice sounded. "He teased me about how quiet our room had been lately. So naturally, I brought up how not everyone was like him and Lissa. Christian didn't know what I was talking about. Apparently, Lissa and Christian had overslept today. Please Rose, no more lies." I knew there was a pleading note to my voice. I hated that she was keeping something from me.

I was shocked by the broken look that came across her face. "I don't want you to think I'm insane," she whispered. "I don't want you to think any less of me."

"I could never," I told her, standing up and walking over to her. "I would never think any less of you because of something you told me. I thought you knew me better than that." I felt hurt. I couldn't believe that after everything we've been through she didn't know that she could trust me.

"I know you well Dimitri," she told me quietly. "That's why I'm afraid."

I felt my heart clench. "What could possibly be so bad that you had to lie to me?" I asked her harshly. "We had agreed a long, long time ago that we wouldn't keep important secrets from each other. We had agreed that we didn't need to. What changed that? What makes you think that you can't tell me this?"

"Nothing," Rose told me. "It was nothing."

"I saw your face earlier. It wasn't nothing. Nothing doesn't make you freeze like that!" I said to her, getting more and more annoyed. When she didn't say anything, my anger increased. "I don't believe this. I tell you everything. EVERYTHING. And you have the nerve to–"

"I saw Mason!" She yelled at me, cutting me off.

I stared at her. Of all the things I had expected, that was the very last thing. "You… saw Mason?" I asked her uncertainly. She nodded, refusing to look at me. "But, Rose. Mason is… you know… dead."

"I know he is," she said harshly. "That's why I didn't say anything to you. I knew that you would think I was insane."

"Rose, I don't think you're insane," I told her gently.

"I'm seeing ghosts and you don't think I'm insane?" She asked bitterly.

"No," I told her sincerely. "I may not believe that you're seeing a ghost, but I don't believe you're insane. Maybe it was a trick of the light."

"See?" She asked. I was surprised by the anger that was building in her. It was like Lissa's darkness all over again, but it had been months since she last let it get to her. "This is what I meant! I know what I saw. It wasn't some trick of the light. I've seen him twice. The first time I thought it was just because I was tired, but this morning I knew it was real. It's him. And I don't know why. Why is he doing this?"

My heart broke as she uttered those last words. She sounded so desperate, so upset. "Rose," I said softly. I didn't know what to say. I wanted to comfort her, to tell her that I knew why she was seeing Mason. I couldn't though. I didn't know. I didn't believe in ghosts and I had never known that Rose did. I was sure there was some other explanation, but I couldn't tell rose that. I didn't want to upset her anymore. I took a deep breath. I had to be honest with her. If I wasn't, that would just make me a hypocrite. "Rose, I don't believe in ghosts. But I'll try to keep an open mind about this. I don't know what is going on and why you are seeing Mason, but I'm here for you. I don't want you to think that just because I'm having a difficult time understanding this, that you can't tell me when something like this happens. I will try to help you."

Rose looked up at me. I was surprised to see how watery her eyes were. "But you don't believe me. You don't believe that I'm seeing his ghost," she said to me.

"It's not you I don't believe," I told her quietly. "I don't believe in ghosts. I can't just suddenly change that. But no matter what, I am here for you. I don't want you to feel like you have to keep secrets. I'll keep an open mind about anything you tell me. And I most definitely don't think you're insane."

Rose considered my words carefully. After several long, long moments had passed, she nodded her head. "I'll tell you if this happens again. I'm sorry I kept it from you, I was just so scared. I know you mentioned that you don't believe in ghosts a long time ago and I knew you wouldn't believe this. I thought you would think I was going crazy or something," she told me quietly.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me. "I would never," I promised her quietly.

After a couple of minutes had passed, I pulled back. "Do you have any homework?" I asked her.

Just like that everything went back to normal. "No," she told me with a small smile. "I think all of the guardians and moroi are too busy thinking about the queen. All day, you could tell they knew something. Mrs. Dilner started crying when Lissa raised her hand to ask if she could go to the bathroom."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "That really doesn't surprise me," I told her. Mrs. Dilner was a middle-aged moroi with bright red hair and a heart bigger than the moon. She was more emotional than anyone I had ever known. I once saw her cry because she knocked someone's book into a puddle while she was rushing to her classroom one day. "Imagine how Jill's teachers are acting."

Rose smiled. "They're probably refusing to acknowledge her," Rose told me.

"Well, except for Mr. Brener," I added.

Rose groaned. "I forgot she had him," she said. "Of all the teachers to have. She had to get the one that loves for people to know that he knows something they don't know. I can just see it now." She dropped her voice to a monotone and pulled up her best attempt at a french accent. "Oh, Ms. Mastrano. I am terribly sorry. Oh so sorry. Oh, no. I couldn't possibly tell you why. You'll just have to wait and find out."

I couldn't help but laugh. That is probably exactly what Mr. Brener said. "I hope Jill will be okay," I said once my amusement faded.

"She will be," Rose said determinedly. "She'll have Lissa and Christian and me and Eddie and Mia. We'll help her."

"I know you will," I told her softly. "And I hope that's enough."


	29. Chapter 29

Rose's Point of View

It was almost strange how quickly I fell asleep after the conversation I had with Dimitri. I was just drained. Between telling Dimitri about Mason and worrying about Jill, I was utterly exhausted.

When I woke up, I was shocked to see that I was awake before my alarm was set to go off. This moment should go in history books. Usually Dimitri's alarm clock acquires several battle scars when it attempts to wake me up. It was a sign of how nervous I was that I couldn't even fall back asleep.

I didn't know why I was so nervous. It's not as if it I was the one being told I was royalty in front of the entire school. I really had no reason to be worried, but despite that an uneasy feeling settled deep in my stomach. I couldn't figure out why and decided just to ignore it.

All day, it hung over me. With every minute that passed, I felt as if another rock were added to my already jumbled stomach. I kept telling myself I was being irrational. There was no reason for me to be acting like this. Jill and Lissa knew what was coming. They were prepared for the stares and whispers. I had no reason to be this worried. But I was, inexplicably so.

I was almost relieved when classes were over and I had to start getting ready for the assembly. I don't know why we had classes anyway. None of the teachers gave us any kind of work, with the exception of the early morning classes. Those were the physical training for dhampirs and elemental classes for moroi.

The entire day that I was in classes, I could feel Lissa's emotions through the bond. She was terrified for the assembly, for the entire school to know of her father's infidelity. It was one thing to hear it from a friend, it was another entirely to hear the queen announce it to everyone.

When I got back to Dimitri's room, there was a traditional guardian uniform sitting on his bed, one that was much too small for him. All the novices had been issued identical guardian outfits so we could put on an impressive show for the queen. The moroi had been left to their own devices, but had been warned to dress formally. When I met her before the banquet, Lissa was in a gown that fell below her knees and looked absolutely elegant on her. It was a pearly pink that made her pale skin look like it was glowing.

We entered the main hall which had magically been transformed. It looked fit for a queen. There were two moroi in tuxedos that I had never seen before handing out little pamphlets. It seemed a little too much. Until I looked inside and realized that both Stan and Hans were speaking as well as Headmaster Kirova and some man named Donovan Lus that I had never heard of before.

After my conversation with Dimitri, I wasn't surprised that the queen was speaking at the very end of the assembly. She really did want to put it off until the last possible minute.

As we looked around, we realized much to our chagrin, that the tables were assigned to either moroi or dhampirs. Wouldn't want any socializing at a banquet. That would make sense.

I ended up sitting at a table with Christian, Eddie, and three junior novices I didn't really know well. Eddie and Christian had known them since they came to St. Vladimir's when they were kids, so they easily struck up a conversation with them. I on the other hand felt like I was a polar bear in a flock of black bears. I was usually comfortable talking to people, but right now, I felt completely out of my element. Christian and Eddie both tried to draw me into conversation, but after several failed attempts, they finally seemed to grasp the strange mood I was in and gave up.

I felt worse for Lissa and Mia. She was at a table with Mia and four snobby royals. Out of obligation, Lissa was making polite small talk with them. Whoever's idea it was to put Mia at a table with them deserves to fall off a cliff. When the four moroi weren't saying things like, "it's a royal thing, you wouldn't understand," they were completely ignoring her. Lissa tried to draw her in, but similar to me, she was refusing to take any part in it.

I was relieved when the food came. It gave me something to do other than sit at the table brooding. I'll give the queen some credit. The food she had imported to St. Vladimir's was delicious, better than anything I had ever tasted. And there was plenty to go around. I don't remember the last time I ate so much. But I didn't regret it. I was going to work it all off anyway.

I was stuffed when the food was finally taken away. And I mean couldn't fit a piece of celery in my stomach, stuffed.

Right after the food came the 'speeches,' if you could call them that. It was really just them welcoming us to the banquet and explaining the changes that would be occurring without explaining why. It really was a whole lot of mumbo jumbo. Donovan Lus never got around to telling us why he was important, he just talked about how this is a revolutionary school and how he knows great things will happen here.

I actually started dozing off during Stan's speech. His, naturally had to be the worst. He has a way of saying something simple with thousands of words. It's so annoying.

I was both relieved and anxious when the queen walked up to the front of the little stage that had been erected in the main hall. She cleared her throat and started to talk about some of the changes, just repeating what Stan and Hans had already said.

I didn't really start to pay attention until she started to talk about Jill. "I know you are all wondering why we have gathered here today. Well, the truth is that I bare news that is both sad, yet joyful. There is someone who sits among you who until recently did not know of her parentage. That person is Jillian Mastrano. It is with a hardened heart that I have to report that Jillian Mastrano is the product of an esteemed moroi's infidelity. She is–" The queen said.

I was distracted as several things happened simultaneously. First, I saw Mason again. He was standing to the left of the queen wearing that same sad look on his face. This time though, he was concentrating very hard. He mouthed words several times before he managed to get them out. "They're coming," he said. His voice was nothing more than a whisper, but I could hear him as clearly as if he were standing next to me.

At the same exact time, something distracted everyone else in the hall as well. As if the universe was working against Jill, entirely content with keeping the entire moroi world in the dark, the door to the main hall banged open.

There was much fidgeting as students tried to get a better look at who was at the door. My blood went cold when I saw who was there. It shouldn't be possible. Not now. Not when the queen and the last Dragomirs were conveniently in the same room. Not when guardians were least expecting it.

"She is a Dragomir," the cold voice of Natalie Dashkov finished.


	30. Chapter 30

Dimitri's Point of View

Her words reverberated throughout the hall. Whispers flew through the hall. I don't think most of the students realized what she was.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rose stand up. She ran towards the other side of the hall where the moroi tables were grouped together. I didn't see anything after that. I was assuming she was going to get the moroi to remain calm and somehow vacate the hall without walking into a cluster of strigoi.

I wasn't sure how this was possible. We had wards that were reinforced every couple of days. There was no way that they could have entered St. Vladimir premises. But here she was.

Every guardian in the room responded instinctively. We could see her for what she was. It didn't take the red-rimmed eyes for us to be certain. We just had to look at the pale, pale skin and the look of death on her face to know what she was.

As a general rule, guardians were supposed to expect the unexpected. But this was the absolute last thing we had been expecting. We moved slowly, trying not to alert her to our movements, but we might as well have been trying to convince the pilot of a plane we weren't flying.

A quick glance around the room showed that most of the moroi were gone. And so were a handful of school guardians and Rose. I didn't know where she took them, but I had to hope they hadn't walked into any danger. Two court guardians had taken the queen, most likely on the same route that Rose and the guardians had taken the moroi students. Several of the older novices had left with them, bringing the younger novices to safety. The only moroi that remained were the teachers and only a handful

The guardians that remained slowly closed in on Natalie. I had been stationed in the corner of the hall, so I was one of the guardians closest to her. I had drawn my stake. Natalie may be powerful, but she's still a young strigoi. Even she cannot last against this many guardians.

That was, until things got complicated. There were six windows on either side of the hall. They shattered as a dozen strigoi jumped through them. There were still more of us than of them, but add in that we had to protect the moroi that remained, we were in trouble.

Despite that, we pressed on. I lunged for Natalie while other guardians did the same for the other strigoi in the room. A couple of guardians were leading the teachers from the room, leaving us outnumbered so several guardians were fighting two or three strigoi.

I fought with an unprecedented rage. I was fighting for all the pain and suffering Natalie has caused me, Rose, and our friends. It made me reckless, but I was too overconfident. That was very nearly my undoing.

In my overconfidence, I left myself vulnerable. I gave Natalie an opening that she gladly took. She knocked my stake out of my hand and I braced myself. I couldn't believe I had been so foolish. It was one of the things I constantly warned Rose about. Don't fight with your emotions. I had ignored my own advice and now there was nothing to stop Natalie from killing me.

That was until she inexplicably collapsed.

It was difficult, nearly impossible to stab a strigoi through the back. There was so much more protecting the heart from the back, that even experienced guardians rarely did it. That's why when I saw the stake sticking out of Natalie's back, I couldn't even pull my eyes from the sight to look at whoever killed the strigoi. The stake was wedged so far into her back that there was no way it hadn't pierced her heart.

When I finally looked up, I felt conflicting emotions of pride and sorrow. Pride because of the woman standing behind her and sorrow because this meant that she would feel the pain of another death. Every death hurt, even a strigoi like Natalie.

I looked at Rose's face and saw nothing but determination. "Happy to see me comrade?" She asked me with a sad smile.

"You have no idea," I told her. I looked her up and down. She didn't look as if she had acquired any new injuries. I bent down to pull the stake out of Natalie. I looked at it confused. It wasn't the one I had given her. The stake had strange markings on it. "Where did you get this?"

"It's what was used to break the wards. I don't know how exactly, but it's the only thing I could think of. Stakes are too rare for a guardian to just have left it on the ground," she explained.

For the first time, I noticed how exhausted she looked. "What's going on out there?" I asked her worriedly.

"We have all the students crammed into the third and fourth floor of the dhampirs dormitory," Rose explained quickly. "Some of the older novices are stationed on the second floor and are helping with the students on the third and fourth. I don't know where the queen is. Two of her personal guardians mentioned something about taking her to the church. I don't know if they made it there. The court and school guardians are fighting throughout the grounds. We just have to hold them off for another hour or so. They'll be retreating so they can escape before the sun comes out."

I stared at her. "If the older novices are protecting the students, how are you here?" I asked her suspiciously.

Rose bit her lip. "I may have climbed out a window," she admitted. "But it's ridiculous that they told me I was too young to help. There are dozens of strigoi out there Comrade. We killed five just on our way to the dorms. You need all the help you can get."

"You won't hear me arguing," I told her sincerely.

She nodded at me. "Stay safe," she warned me before she ran off to help Yuri who was struggling with three strigoi.

I forced myself to look away from her, forced myself to put my faith in her as I looked around the rest of the hall. There were only a handful of strigoi left, but many guardians had left to join the fight outside. There were five guardians, six if you counted Rose against four strigoi.

It took us nearly twenty minutes to finish off the remaining strigoi. When there were only two strigoi left, Yuri's neck was ripped off by a female strigoi. Most inexperienced guardians would have hesitated, but Rose immediately lunged at the strigoi. The strigoi hadn't been expecting the attack and with a well-placed blow, she was dead as well.

Rose and I left after that, leaving two guardians to finish off the final strigoi.

When I stepped outside, I nearly gasped. Rose had warned me, but I hadn't quite understood. There had to be at least twenty strigoi left. The guardians were fighting the strigoi over a pile of bodies. There weren't just strigoi bodies. There were guardians and I even saw a moroi's body lying next to that of a slain strigoi.

This was a bloodbath and nothing could have prepared me for it.


	31. Chapter 31

Rose's Point of View

It went against everything I was taught to defy a direct order from a superior. But technically speaking, I wasn't a guardian yet. And I knew I could help. I felt that that justified my leaving. And now I was sure. The guardians were greatly outnumbered. And they were tired from fighting off so many strigoi. While we have dwindled the strigoi down so there are only ten left, we have suffered much more grievous losses.

I didn't know where Dimitri was. I had lost him nearly forty minutes ago when we had first come outside. We were both consumed by our own battles, I just had to hope he was okay.

I lost track of how many strigoi I killed. I wouldn't be able to tell you how many times I helped a guardian narrowly escape being killed and vice versa. If I survived tonight, I knew I would leave with a greater appreciation for life. I had been in life-threatening situations before – more times than I care to admit, but none of them compared to this.

This wasn't just me being captured by strigoi or being cornered by them. This was an all-out war. Every few minutes, I watched a strigoi die, or worse, I watched another guardian die. This wasn't like when I was imprisoned and if I tried to escape I would just be tied up again. Every minute out here was do or die. Every instance was a battle between life and death. If you are lucky, life will keep winning.

As I fought, I kept track of Lissa. It barely took any effort to keep myself out of Lissa's head. Mostly because I had to concentrate on the strigoi too much to concentrate on much else. It was foolish to check on her. I had personally ensured that she was on the fourth floor of the dormitory, but I couldn't help but check. She and Jill were as safe as could be, but Natalie's words when she had kidnapped me and Jill still rang in my ears. They were after the Dragomirs and I wasn't about to lose either of them in a lapse in judgment.

I wasn't surprised to see Eddie and Christian weren't with her anymore. They would want to help as much as I did. I just hoped they were okay.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the eight remaining strigoi that we had been fighting and about a dozen strigoi from around campus retreated off of the grounds, intending to get to safety before the sun came out. I froze as a figure ran out after them.

I had assumed it was humans that had been working with the strigoi. I had never considered this alternative. But between her cries of "Did you get her? Did you get her?" and her extremely distinguishing features, there was no doubt left in my mind. Her long, flowy black hair and her ice blue eyes as well as the scarring on her cheeks revealed her for who she was. Tasha Ozera. But I couldn't figure out why.

Tasha wasn't nearly as fast as the strigoi and she soon fell behind. Far enough behind that the remaining guardians could capture her. Having a moroi that was fraternizing with strigoi was dangerous, very dangerous. Tasha was the reason so many people had died today. She was the reason that St. Vladimir's was attacked.

While I was furious with Tasha, I couldn't help but feel bad for her. Once I realized why she might be doing this, it was hard not to feel just a teensy bit of sympathy. She still wanted Dimitri. It was with a shock that I realized I was the 'she' Tasha had been asking about. Perhaps that was what spurred Tasha to aid the strigoi. A promise that in exchange for her help, they would make sure I didn't survive the night. It might sound cocky, but I was sure I was right. I was sure that this was Tasha's way of trying to clear the path to Dimitri.

It infuriated me. That Tasha thought her love life was more important than the lives of dozens of guardians.

The guardians had formed a solid wall behind her. The guardians were spaced out so that there was much space in between them, but not enough for Tasha to get through.

That's when all hell truly broke loose. "Tasha Ozera," a voice whispered. A voice that should have been locked up in safety. A voice that didn't seem to realize the danger she was still in. The queen wasn't locked in the chapel on campus. She was standing only a couple of yards away from Tasha. "I hadn't expected this from you."

Tasha looked around desperately, trying to find an exit. When she realized there was no way out, she began to panic. She looked much like a monkey that had been put in a cage that was far too small for her. Thinking with her fear and not with her brain, Tasha ran full speed towards the guardian closest to her. Unluckily for the guardian, Tasha had some experience with fighting and self-defense.

She had just enough to steal the gun from the guardian and fire a couple of warning shots into the air.

When the guardians didn't stop their attack, Tasha fired several shots in a random direction. I don't know what happened after that. I'm assuming the guardians captured Tasha. I was too preoccupied by something else.

What the guardians hadn't been paying attention to and what I had most certainly been paying attention to, was the direction the gun had been pointed in when Tasha had taken it.

Perhaps it was because I understood that people will do anything when their desperate, or because I understood the feeling of being trapped, but when she fired the shots, I had already moved.

I had started running just in time to knock the queen to the ground, using my body as a human shield. The bullets bit into my chest. I didn't feel as if I had been shot at first. Mostly, I felt as if a mosquito had landed on my chest and was sucking my blood. With every suck though, it got more painful until the feeling of being stung disappeared. It took several minutes for me to register the crippling and agonizing pain that was ripping through my chest.

I heard a cry of "Rose!" and saw the face of an angel. I tried to tell that angel that I loved him with all my heart. I tried to tell him I would miss him. I tried to tell him to be safe.

It was almost a relief when the black waters of unconsciousness pulled me under, relieving me of my pain. I knew as I drifted off that this probably wasn't something I was going to wake up from and part of me was okay with that.

This was always the way I had envisioned dying. Protecting a moroi from a threat. If it meant the queen lived, it was my duty to give my life.

It was my last act of defiance. I may not die a guardian, but by fighting strigoi. And even the queen couldn't take that away from me.


	32. Chapter 32

Dimitri's Point of View

The world seemed to move in slow motion when I saw the guardians close around her. She used to be my childhood friend, someone I could trust and confide in. but somehow she changed into this wicked manipulative person that I barely recognized. First, she tried to kill Rose and now she was working with strigoi? She looked the same on the outside, but she wasn't the Tasha Ozera I grew up with.

She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. I couldn't help but wince as I saw her charge at a guardian. I knew Tasha well. She didn't have the skills to subdue this many guardians, but she would be able to cause some damage. Everything was moving so quickly, passing in a blur. I couldn't see what was happening. Then I heard the gunshots.

She fired off three shots and then paused. Some of the guardians slowed their advance to consider the new threat. They gave me the opening to see Tasha. She looked at the guardians fearfully and fired off four more shots. took I watched in horror as I looked towards where her gun was pointed. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Bullets travel faster than guardians, and these bullets were heading right at the queen. However, the queen didn't fall to the ground from life-threatening injuries as everyone had been expecting. She had been tackled to the ground and someone else had taken her place.

My blood went cold as I watched Rose jump in front of the queen. It didn't feel real. It didn't seem possible. But somehow Rose had known what Tasha was going to do. She got there before anyone else had been able to react. The one person that would have a right to hold the queen in contempt had just saved her life. If I weren't so frightened, I would be so proud of what Rose had done.

A couple of seconds passed as everyone stared in a shocked silence. Many of the guardians had worked with Rose, or at least heard of what she had done. They were just as shocked as I was. The only people that moved were the guardians that finally tackled Tasha.

I snapped out of my haze. "Rose!" I yelled, not caring who heard. I didn't care if her secret was revealed right now. She could be dying. I ran. Rose had proven that she could be a guardian. She had saved the queen and if that wasn't good enough, I didn't care.

Rose had been about a quarter of a mile away from me. Far enough away that I had only just been able to see her fall to the ground, unable to even hear the thud, but close enough that I could see how the hair on her head bounced slightly between the wind and the impact of her fall.

As I got closer, I could see more of her, like how deathly pale her face looked and how she was struggling to breath.

I ran, faster than I ever had before. It took me about fifteen seconds to get to her, which definitely broke some kind of record. Now that I was close, I could hear her ragged breathing. I knelt down and looked over her. Her eyes were fluttering as if she was struggling to keep them open. Her face was becoming more and more pale with each passing second.

"Rose, please stay with me," I begged. I knew from the look in her eyes that she would try. If I had doubted her love before, I now understood. Love wasn't just about spending countless nights together and finding someone you could confide in, love is when, in your last moments of life, you want to let that person know that you will be okay, even if you don't believe it. That's what Rose was trying to do, but I could see it. I could see the struggle in her eyes. I could see that she didn't believe she would survive this, but that she would try. Love is also about knowing when to let that person give up the fight. I knew the exact moment that it had become too much for her, because her eyes drifted closed and did not re-open. She was still breathing, but her breaths were becoming fewer and far in between.

"Rose?" I heard a voice ask. I looked up, not entirely surprised to see Christian with Eddie right on his heels. Eddie followed Christian's gaze and his eyes widened with shock and horror.

Eddie and Christian sprinted towards me. "What happened to her?" Christian asked.

I couldn't answer his question. I couldn't be the one to tell him that his aunt had tried to kill her.

Before I had the chance to say anything, several guardians appeared with a stretcher. They carefully lifted Rose up and whisked her away. They had only been here a matter of seconds before they took away the woman I loved. I didn't get to say goodbye, didn't get to go with her. I knew there was no point in following them. They would definitely not let me in while Rose was in surgery, which she would definitely need to extract the bullets.

I watched her disappear with a heavy heart. I prayed that this wasn't the last time I would see her alive. I didn't want this to be my last memory of her. I winced as I remembered her white shirt, stained red with her own blood, her face pale enough to rival a strigoi, and the look of hopelessness in her eyes, that said she just couldn't fight anymore. "Dimitri!" Eddie said, snapping me out of my daze. I looked towards him sadly. Part of my brain was registering that now that Rose was gone, everyone was watching us. "What happened to her?"

I opened and closed my mouth several times. I couldn't bring myself to utter a single syllable, much less form any sort of coherent explanation.

"Her?" A voice came. Guardian Alto stepped forward, his face more purple than normal. It was no secret that he had never cared for Robert and he looked as if he wasn;t "What do you mean by her?"

I sighed. I hadn't thought of the consequences extending to me. I only just realized how much trouble I could get into for this. I hid her gender from the entire school. Only a handful of people knew the truth. I could lose my job for this, but I didn't care. If Rose survived, I would take whatever punishment was thrown my way.

Christian looked up at Stan. "Her name was Rosemarie Hathaway," he told Stan without blinking an eye. He turned to me. "And I want to know what happened to her."

The guardians stared. All of them had known Rose as Robert. He was one of the hardest working novices in this school. He had killed two strigoi over the summer and another one helping Jill escape. He had killed more strigoi than any other guardian tonight. They had nothing but the highest respect for him. I hoped that wouldn't change now that they learned he was a she.

"A girl?" Stan asked absolutely infuriated. He was looking right at me, directing all of his anger towards me. "By law, she should not have even been able to step foot into this school, much less train to be a guardian. She has deceived us and you have helped her."

"If I hadn't, the queen would be dead right now," I said, speaking for the first time since Rose was taken away. Everyone was silent, hanging onto every word I said. I was sure the queen was behind me. I hoped she was listening as well. "Rose didn't want to deceive anyone, but she wasn't given a choice. She has proven that she can fight as well as any of the male novices here, better than most in fact. She has accomplished more in a matter of months than many grown guardians accomplish in years. She wanted to be a guardian, wanted to do some good to this world. I wasn't going to take that away from her."

"I don't care what she has accomplished–" Stan started to say. His face seemed to turn more purple the more he got worked up.

"But I do," a voice cut him off. A powerful voice that had me turning around shocked.

The queen had taken a step forward. "I have heard all I needed to hear. I will deliberate and make a decision about Ms. Hathaway. Guardian Alto, I will inform you about my decision so you can carry out the proper arrangements," she explained.

"Yes your majesty," Stan said, bowing slightly.

"Oh, and Guardian Alto?" The queen asked.

"Yes?" He asked uncertainly.

"You should start looking for replacements for Guardian Belikov," she said before she walked away.

"Gladly," Stan muttered angrily. I didn't turn to face him, I didn't need to. I could feel his glare burning a hole into my back.

I stared after the queen. Did she just order Stan to fire me? My heart thumped in my chest. It was one thing to be fired by Stan, but to be fired by the queen? She might as well have stripped me of my guardian status. I also didn't like what she was talking about before. What arrangements would Stan have to make. Was it possible that after everything Rose had done, the queen was going to punish her for impersonating a boy? Was Rose going to be expelled, or worse imprisoned?

I really hoped not. There were muddled whispers as the queen walked away. Guardians talked about what they believed would happen next.

"You know, you never told us what happened," Christian said sadly.

"Someone tried to shoot the queen," I said, unable to look Christian in the eyes. "Rose jumped in front of her to protect her."

"Who?" Christian asked, his face paling. He had already figured it out, but he had to hear it. He had to know. "Who tried to shoot her?"

I wasn't the one to answer him. It was another guardian that had been near the queen for the entire thing. "Natasha Ozera," the guardian told him.


	33. Chapter 33

Rose's Point of View

I woke up to the steady beeping of a machine. It was very disorienting. I had no idea where I was. The walls were a soft yellow, nothing like the plain walls of St. Vladimir's Academy. And my bed was far too comfortable to be a hospital bed. For a moment, I entertained the notion that I was in heaven, but I immediately disregarded that population. There was no way God would let me into heaven. Then again, I did die saving the queen. I'm practically a martyr.

It took several moments for my eyes to adjust. As I was able to process more and more of my surroundings, I realized that I was very much alive. My room was bright, too bright. I didn't know how long I had been out, but it was long enough that even under the lights of my room, I felt like I was staring at the sun.

Once my eyes adjusted, I wasn't surprised to see that Dimitri was asleep in a chair, with his head resting on the edge of my bed. A band of strigoi couldn't keep us apart, I doubted any doctor could. When I looked up from Dimitri's sleeping form, I was surprised to see just how large my room was and how many people were in it.

Huddled in one corner were Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Mia, and Jill. Lissa's head was resting on Christian's shoulders and she looked like she hadn't slept well in days, which was likely. Christian didn't look any better, which I feared was more a product of Tasha's betrayal than his worry for my life. He and Tasha hadn't been on the best terms before. Christian had struggled with what she had done before. While I had only known Mason for a matter of months, Christian had known him for years. They had been friends. I didn't think he would ever be able to forgive her now.

My biggest shock came from seeing my brothers sitting down in a straight line. It was almost comical to see the seven of them line up. I don't know if it was intentional, but they had sat down in age order and I almost felt as if I was watching the evolution of my brothers. They all looked extremely similar, so each looked like a younger or an older version of the next. It was comical. After I had registered that they were here, I was confused and a little scared about why they would be here.

I knew what this meant. Everyone knew who I really was, everyone knew what I had done. It scared me more than I care to admit. I didn't know what awaited me. Was I being treated just to be thrown in a prison cell for the rest of my life? Or worse, was I going to be forced back into my old life. I couldn't bear the thought of being forced to marry a moroi and having to leave Dimitri. I closed my eyes, trying to force all those thoughts out of my head, but my breath hitched as if I were going to cry... Which I wasn't going to do, of course.

I coughed to hide the tremble in my breath. But my cough alerted everyone in the room that I was awake. I felt as if I were on display as everyone's eyes immediately snapped towards me. It had an almost claustrophobic effect on me, one that left me wishing I was still asleep, or silently observing my room.

Thank God that Dimitri is a light sleeper. He woke up the same time that everyone else realized I was awake. He gave me the distraction I needed to look away from everyone. Dimitri squeezed my hands and gave me one of his breathtaking smiles. For a second, just one second, I let myself forget about all the people staring at me. It was easy to lose myself in his warm, brown eyes.

That moment was short lived as a shrill shriek rang through the room. "Rose!" Lissa squealed as she ran over to my bed. I thought she was going to jump on me, but she didn't. She came to a stop at the edge of my bed and gave me an awkward one-armed hug. I hugged her back and for the first time, became aware of the tightness in my chest.

"Oh," I said surprised. I sat up in bed and that tightness changed to a small nagging pain. I knew it didn't hurt that much, but I wanted to scream because it was so uncomfortable. It was the kind of pain that crept under you and consumed you until you couldn't think of anything else... kind of like a hangnail or a papercut. Not extremely painful, but impossible to ignore.

"I couldn't heal you," Lissa said apologetically. "They wouldn't let me in to see you until you were all patched up and then there was so much happening, I didn't have the strength to."

"I wouldn't expect you to heal me," I told her. "It's not worth what the darkness does to us." I felt through the bond to see how Lissa had been handling the last few days. As I reached out, I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. I couldn't find it. I looked at Lissa panicked. I felt like part of me was gone.

She nodded at me. "The bond is gone," she confirmed.

"But… how?" I asked uncertainly.

"How did anything ever work between us?" She asked. "It's a mystery. We can only speculate and guess."

I sighed and leant back against my pillows. I was inexplicably exhausted. "How long was I out for?" I asked.

"Almost four days," Dimitri told me, rubbing soothing circles into the back of my hand.

"Four days?" I asked shocked. I glanced over to my brothers. "Care to explain to me what happened while I was unconscious?"

Dimitri looked at me guiltily. "When you got shot, I kind of made it obvious that you were female. I'm sorry Roza, I couldn't help it," he admitted apologetically. "When the school found out who you really are, they contacted your family. Abe is outside with your mother. I think he's trying to convince her not to kill you."

I chuckled. "And probably not having much luck," I admitted. I wouldn't be surprised if my mother killed me. I did ruin the wedding she planned for me.

I looked at Dimitri. He was bruised and had a bandage above his left eyebrow, but other than that, he look unharmed. "Are you alright?" I asked him, momentarily more concerned about him. I knew I was okay, but Dimitri could be dying and he would try to hide it from me.

"Typical. You get shot and nearly die and you're worried about me," Dimitri said amused.

"I always worry about you," I pointed out. I looked at him, trying to convey with my eyes what I wanted – no, what I needed from him. I think Dimitri got the message, because he leant down and gently pressed his lips to mine. For the first time, no one coughed to make us stop. After everything that has happened, I think they understood the need to know that a loved one was okay.

Dimitri broke the kiss after a few moments had passed. "How are you feeling?" He asked me.

"A little sore," I admitted. "But that is to be expected."

Dimitri nodded and a small smile graced his lips. "You gave us all quite the fright," he said to me. He tried to sound stern, but he still sounded too relieved for any other emotions to show.

Psychic bond or not, Lissa still knew what I needed, and I needed to make sure my friends were okay. I'm guessing Lissa signaled to them, because in the next moment Christian, Eddie, Jill, and Mia had joined us.

I was bombarded with questions and everyone was talking over one another, I really had no idea what was being said. "Hey guys, one at a time," I ordered them. Clearly one at a time meant all talk at once, because they all started talking again. I sighed and closed my eyes, hoping if I focused on a specific voice I would understand what was being said to me. I sighed dramatically when it didn't work.

They all chuckled. "I think what we're trying to say is that we're glad you're okay," Mia told me.

Christian looked at the ground guiltily. "Rose," he said softly. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"How can it be your fault?" I asked him incredulously. I had known Christian would feel bad about his aunt, but there was nothing he could have done. Even Christian wasn't that stupid.

"I met with Aunt Tasha about a week ago. I had missed her and while I'm still angry about what she did over the summer, I wanted to see her. I had told her what had been going on, including you being captured by strigoi. I had no idea she would do something like this. I… I think that's why she allied with the strigoi, because I told her about what had happened. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so stupid," he said apologetically. I sighed. Apparently Christian was stupid enough to believe it was his fault.

"You must be stupider than I thought. I don't blame you for this," I told him. "No one knew what Tasha was capable of."

Christian nodded, but still looked guilty. Everyone began talking at once... Again. For a couple of minutes, I just listened, glad to see my friends were okay. None of them talked about what had happened in the past few days. It didn't escape my notice, I was just preoccupied with other things. Namely the seven brothers that were lined up in a row, waiting patiently for me to acknowledge them.

I looked over to my brothers one more time. "Um… guys," I said quietly, cutting into the middle of the conversation. But I didn't care how rude I sounded. I needed to talk to my brothers. "Do you think you could give us a minute?"

Lissa and Dimitri nodded. I thought I detected a faint note of hurt mixed with understanding. Dimitri hated that he had to leave me, but he knew I needed to talk to my brothers.

They didn't just walk back to their corner, they gave me and my brothers true privacy and left, no doubt waiting outside in a hallway that was just as extravagant as this room. I cursed myself that I hadn't remembered to ask them where I was. I would ask them that later. Right now I had bigger battles. I had to earn my brother's forgiveness. I think I'd rather face the strigoi again.


	34. Chapter 34

Rose's Point of View

"Charlie," I whispered. My youngest brother's head snapped up to look at me. Charlie was only seven years old the last time I saw him. I knew he would be almost nine now and he looked it. He had grown several inches. Charlie had always been closer to me than my other brothers. Part of it was that when he was born, I was old enough to help my mother with him. It often had fallen to me to take care of Charlie when my mother was out. Charlie had been dozing off against Toby's shoulder, my second-youngest brother.

Charlie stood up and walked towards my bed. He may be eight years old, but the second I extended my arms to him, he climbed into bed and snuggled into my side. It wasn't until I had seen them that I realized how much I had missed my brothers. They had always been supportive of me, had always been sympathetic. They had never made fun of me for wanting to be a guardian. Instead they had trained with me. And how had I repaid them? By leaving without as much as a goodbye. I hoped they knew why I had done it though. If I had said goodbye, I would never have been able to convince myself to go.

My older brothers, Frank and Andrew both guarded different moroi. Last I heard, their moroi were living in Iowa. I didn't know how they had managed to come here. They come first. Even before family. My other older brother Kevin was a different story. He got his promise mark, but never became a guardian to a specific moroi. Much like Dimitri, he chose to be a guardian to the whole. He worked at a college specifically designated for moroi. I wasn't surprised he was able to get off.

As for my four younger brothers, they were still in school. My mother must have pulled them out for a few days.

"Rosie," Charlie said to me sadly. Charlie was the only person that has ever gotten away with calling me Rosie. He only uses it when he's upset and I couldn't find it in my heart to yell at him when he's upset. I have never been particularly maternal, but that all melts away when it comes to was the only child I would ever be semi-maternal towards. The only one.

"I'm alright Charlie," I promised him, kissing his forehead. "I'm right here."

"I miss you," he whispered to me. His bottom lip quivered, the same it always did when he was close to crying. Much like he always had when me and my mother got into fights.

"I missed you too. More than I can say. I'm so sorry I had to leave you," I told him. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from crying. I had been able to handle so much, but one look at my family and I was suddenly emotional and on the brink of tears. "Can you forgive me?"

"Already have Rosie," he said. "I would have done the same thing if mommy wanted to marry me to Adrian." Charlie wrinkled up his nose in disgust.

I chuckled. I truly hoped Charlie would never grow up.

As if Charlie forgiving me gave them an invitation, the rest of my brothers stood up and joined me at my bedside. I looked towards Kevin. After Charlie, Kevin was definitely the one I was closest to. He was the only one that had known that I was making plans to leave and become a guardian. He was actually the one that suggested it. Even though Kevin was only three years older than me, he had always been my biggest protector. He was the first one to check my closet for monsters or tell me that as long as I stayed by my big brother, I would be okay. He was the first one to help me start training and learning some of the moves they learned as guardians. He was my biggest motivator.

So it was natural that right now, when I was feeling so emotional, surrounded by family that he be the first I turned to.

Kevin carefully captured me in one of his bear hugs. I felt like I was a little girl again. Crying to Kevin about how it wasn't fair that I didn't have a say in my own life.

After Kevin stepped back from our hug, he smiled at me big. "You did well little sis, you did well," he said seriously.

I couldn't help but smile back. I may have lost my chance to be a guardian, but I was proud of myself.

I looked at my brothers. Six of them grouped together and one of them lying at my side. "Guys, I'm really sorry. I wish I could have let you know that I was going to leave, but I was afraid. I didn't think I would be able to make myself leave if I had to say goodbye."

"Do you know what it was like?" Sam asked me angrily. Sam was born only eleven months after me. I understood his anger. He was always like this. If things didn't go exactly his way, he would make sure you knew it. Even at sixteen years old, he was like that. Sam was the only one that ever opposed my dream to become a guardian. He didn't understand why I wouldn't just go along with what my mom wanted. "We got a phone call from mom. 'Wedding is off. Your sister ran away.' I didn't know if I would ever see you again. I didn't know if you survived the night. And what was worse was that no one seemed to care. When I came home for break I went to find Lissa and she just told me she was sure you could take care of yourself. I had no idea if you were okay! Why couldn't you just have stayed put? You could have had a great life!"

"Sam," I said harshly, cutting off his tirade. "I'm sorry. I don't know how many times you want me to say it. You knew that I wasn't happy. I've always wanted to be a guardian. When I got the opportunity to leave, I took it."

"Sam," Frank warned. "Drop it. The important thing is that Rose is safe. Stop being selfish and be grateful for that." Frank patted my shoulder uncomfortably. He was less touchy-feely than I was. Even when he was younger, any kind of loving contact made him uncomfortable. He had a bubble and he liked keeping that bubble to himself and not letting anyone in.

With the exception of Sam, the rest of my brothers seemed to have forgiven me almost instantly. For what I guessed to be close to an hour, we just talked and caught up on the last year. Even Sam eventually relaxed and started contributing. It was great to see them again and to hear all about school and their jobs. They had been one of the hardest things to give up.

Then all of a sudden, everyone jumped back into my room. I looked at them confused. "Everything okay?" I asked them uncertainly. It was odd, but in the moment the only thing I could register was the complete shock on Christian's face when he saw me with my arm around my brother. It was entirely comical. I don't think I would ever forget it.

No one answered me. Instead a guardian that I didn't recognize spoke up. "The queen is here," he announced, stepping aside.


	35. Chapter 35

Dimitri's Point of View

We didn't have a chance to warn her. None of us knew when the queen would make her decision about Rose and we had been too concerned about her well-being to bring it up.

Now, we wouldn't have the chance. She would be completely blind-sided.

We had been standing in the hallway outside one of the guest bedrooms at the royal court. Rose had been put there so that she would be comfortable while she healed. When the queen showed up, she came accompanied by a single guardian. "I will see Rosemarie Hathaway now," she said to us. It wasn't a request, more like a statement. She was letting us know that she had made her decision and she was going to tell Rose it.

We filed into the room before the queen did. Rose was talking to her brothers and looked over at us surprised when she saw us.

I almost smiled when I saw her youngest brother cuddled into her side. He was tiny for an eight year old. He looked about six. I couldn't remember what his name was. Rose hadn't really talked about her family much, but when she had, she had mentioned the special relationship she had with her youngest brother.

"Everything okay?" Rose asked us worriedly. I couldn't answer. There was nothing I could say to prepare her for the queen.

The guardian that had accompanied the queen to the room Rose was in, stepped forward. "The queen is here," he said. He stepped aside to let the queen through.

The queen took a couple of steps forward. "You may leave," she said. Her words made it sound like an option, but her tone betrayed no doubt. This was an order, not a request. None of us left.

"Maybe I did not make myself clear," she said. Her voice was entirely neutral. "I need to speak with Ms. Hathaway. Alone."

Rose looked at her surprised, but a determined look came across her face. "Dimitri will stay," she said, looking right at the queen. Rose kept her face blank and didn't even waver under the queen's intense stare.

The queen and Rose seemed to have some kind of staring contest before the queen relented. "Very well. Guardian Belikov will stay," she agreed.

I don't think I was the only one staring at the queen shocked. She had just agreed to something Rose requested. It gave me hope that perhaps she bore good news.

Rose shifted slightly. "Charlie, you're going to leave for a little bit. You'll be able to come right back in once Queen Tatiana leaves," she told him seriously.

"No!" He whined into her side. "I just got my sister back."

I wasn't entirely surprised by his behavior. He had arrived just the day before and he hadn't gotten a whole lot of sleep. Combine that with his young age and he was a temper tantrum, waiting to happen. Rose seemed to realize this.

"Do you know what Charlie? If you don't leave, Lissa can't take you to go get ice cream," she said to him. As if Rose had sent Lissa a psychic message, Lissa walked towards Charlie.

Charlie immediately perked up. "Ice cream?" He asked hopefully, looking at Lissa.

Lissa smiled down at him. "Yes," she said eagerly. "You can even get gummy bears as a topping." Charlie jumped up and took Lissa's hand. I got the feeling that they had done this before.

"Bye Rosie," Charlie said softly.

"Bye Charlie," Rose whispered sadly. I could see that she didn't want him to leave either. she didn't take her eyes off of him until he was out the door. I had never seen Rose act like this around a kid before. It was actually kind of sweet.

Christian looked at Rose then looked back at Charlie. I thought I heard him mutter something about double standards before he followed Lissa out of the room. Rose's brothers followed. I hadn't really had the chance to talk to them yet, but I had a feeling that one of those 'if you hurt my sister' speeches might be coming my way, judging by the looks they gave me.

Once only Rose, the queen, and I remained, I walked closer to Rose and took a seat in the chair by Rose's bed.

"Ms. Hathaway," Tatiana said, turning to Rose. "You realize impersonation is a great offense in our world. You could be locked in a moroi prison for impersonating a man and deception of officials. For sixteen months, you have kept up this ruse, fooling some of the most prominent guardians. I cannot ignore the infractions you have committed."

Rose looked at the ground. "I understand," she said sadly. I was impressed by how calm she was acting. I would have thought she would be screaming insults at the queen. "I just need you to understand. I'm not like other dhampirs girls. I've never wanted the future where I'm married off to some moroi and I spend my life bending to his will and having his children. I know that's not what I was meant to do. I am just as fast as my classmates, just as strong. I work just as hard. Why should my gender mean I cannot fight?"

"I have long since believed that no moroi would feel safe in the hands of a female guardian. I certainly knew that I would never feel that way. Scientific studies have led me to believe that men are faster and stronger than women, which would make them the optimum guardians. Then there was the downfall that if a female is a guardian, she cannot produce more dhampirs to replenish the dying guardians," Tatiana explained. She had a far off look in her eyes.

"But–" Rose started to say.

"However," Tatiana said loudly, cutting Rose off. "Recent events are being taken into consideration. You have killed more strigoi than most of my personal guardians have killed in their lifetimes. One's ability is not just measured by the amount of strigoi someone has killed, but by their willingness to protect a moroi, even at the cost of their lives. You had every reason to hate me, every reason to allow Tasha Ozera to shoot me; however, you didn't. You risked your life and your secret for me. It is for that reason that I have made my decision. I have never been so happy to be proven wrong."

Rose's jaw dropped as she considered the queen's words. "You mean… You're going to let me become a guardian?" She asked hopefully.

Tatiana almost smiled. "I am," she agreed. The amusement faded from her eyes and she was back to business. "Until this point, only your brothers and your friends, as well as many guardians are aware that you are a female. I am not going to make any official announcement, but you no longer have to hide who you are. It is up to you whether or not you reveal or explain to people who you are. At graduation, you will be introduced as the first female to ever become a guardian."

"Thank you," Rose whispered. "You have no idea what this means to me."

"Actually Ms. Hathaway, I believe I do," Tatiana corrected her. She turned to look at me. "Guardian Belikov. From here on out, you are no longer employed by St. Vladimir's Academy." Rose's eyes widened in horror. But before she had a chance to express her disdain, the queen continued. "Until the end of this school year, you will be the temporary guardian of Jillian Mastrano Dragomir. At the end of the year, Jillian will officially be moved to royal court in Pennsylvania. That is where she will finish her studies. She will also be assigned two permanent guardians when she moves to court. You will not be one of them."

"You can't do that!" Rose said outraged. "You can't fire Dimitri. He has done nothing wrong! He taught me everything I know. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have the skills to protect moroi that I have. He's the best guardian you have in this place and you don't even realize it."

Tatiana waited patiently for Rose to finish shouting before she continued. "This may surprise you Ms. Hathaway that I do indeed realize Guardian Belikov's contribution as a guardian. And I am also aware of his desire not to guard a single moroi. That is why I felt a permanent position at Court would be an excellent opportunity for him, if he chooses to accept it," Tatiana said, her eyes flashing dangerously. I nearly gasped. I had never envisioned working at court. That was my dream job, but I hadn't even been considered. It was after I had been rejected there that I sent out applications to a dozen schools in America. Tatiana turned back to me. "You would be working under Guardian Hans Croft. In the event of his passing, you would take over as Head Guardian."

My jaw dropped. I was only twenty-four. This position was granted to men that were usually much, much older than me and much more experienced.

I only took a moment to deliberate. I knew what my decision would be. It's what would be best for both me and Rose. "I accept," I said happily. I looked at Rose and I knew she supported my decision whole heartedly. I was so excited to begin this next chapter of my life, hopefully one that isn't as stressful as the last one. Knowing Rose though, I doubt it.

I watched Rose as she sat back and nodded at the queen. A faint smile crossed her lips after the queen had left. "Well, I'm glad that's over with," Rose said, letting out a deep breath.

I chuckled. "Oh you're probably going to miss it," I teased her. "You'll have no reason to fight with the queen again."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm ready for a nice quiet life," she told me seriously.

"You don't mean that," I told her confidently.

"What makes you say that?" She challenged.

"You wouldn't be Rose Hathaway if you did," I told her with a grin. And it was true. If there was anything that I had learned from her, it was that dome of the best things in life have to be fought for.


	36. Epilogue

Rose's Point of View

Epilogue

– Six months later –

I couldn't help but squirm as I stood amongst my classmates. I was dressed in a similar outfit to the one I had worn when the queen had come to tell the students about Jill, with one big difference. This outfit was fitted for Rosemarie Hathaway, not Robert Hemmingway. It certainly didn't emphasize my curves, but it was obvious I had them. The black slacks, white blouse, and black jacket fit me well, making me feel professional and free. I wasn't hiding behind the body of Robert Hemmingway. I was Rosemarie Hathaway and I looked it.

So much has changed in the last few months. I was assigned my own room. As the only female dhampir attending St. Vladimir's Academy, there was no one they could put in a room with me and there was really nowhere they could put me. So, they assigned me to guest chambers for the remainder of the year. I did not utter a single complaint about this. The guest chambers were set up like Dimitri's old room had been, with their own bathroom and a kitchen area.

Dimitri was also reassigned to guest chambers, coincidentally, the one next to mine. We alternated whose room we stayed in. It really depended on whether we had to shower. Dimitri's room was set up a little differently than mine. His kitchen area was larger, but he had a smaller bathroom. Our clothes were spread sporadically through both of the rooms. It would probably be very difficult to pack up our stuff, because it literally was everywhere.

While Stan said it was no longer necessary for me to continue my extra training, Dimitri and I still woke up at the crack of night every day to go get in some extra training at the gym. We didn't usually train after classes. We found we had much better things to do in that time. Dimitri's new schedule involved him only having to guard Jill's classes. Outside of her classes, he was off duty. We fully took advantage of that time, after I had finished my homework of course. School comes first, as Dimitri so kindly reminded me.

We went on our very first official date one night. To a little Italian restaurant. It was the first time we could go on a date without worrying that someone would recognize me as his student, or realize that I was a woman. It was enjoyable, being able to spend time in public with Dimitri as me for the first time.

One weekend, we went to visit my brothers. I had promised Charlie that he would see me more often. My mother was less than pleased to see me. She hadn't had a chance to talk to me privately while I was hurt, Charlie made sure of that. He had refused to leave my side, the queen's meeting with me being the exception. Once my mother had the chance to talk to me on my visit, she pretty much said that I wasn't her daughter and that I wasn't welcome to stay under her roof. It hadn't hurt as much as I had expected. I guess our relationship was pretty strained in the first place and my leaving had just shattered it. I had also been expecting it. She hadn't so much as asked me if I was okay when she had come seen me after I got shot. Most parents would be proud that their child had saved the queen and made a difference. Not my mother. Charlie was so upset with my mother that he asked Dimitri and me if he could spend the night with us in our hotel. We agreed and it was probably my favorite night of our trip. We stayed up with Charlie and watched Spongebob and ate ice cream. If that's not a good night, I don't know what it.

One of the things I was most excited for was how much my hair had grown. It hadn't grown a whole lot, but it had grown enough that I could pull it up into a short pony-tail that left my neck free for the ceremony. It had grown enough that humans stopped staring at me when I went shopping at the mall.

All of my classmates were dressed identically to me, but I still felt like I stood out like a sore thumb.

Everything about me was different. From my neck, crowded with tattoos, to the curves of my body. I just felt different and as awkward as I felt, I couldn't be happier for that.

We were in the main hall, again. It was decorated similarly to how it had been the last time the queen had come, but it was three times as crowded. Families and friends of the graduating class, both moroi and dhampirs were here. The moroi graduation ceremony wasn't happening until later tonight, but most moroi wanted to be here for this historic event.

That's right. My graduation was historic. It was really strange to think that something as simple as my becoming a guardian was a historic event, but it was. It wasn't just about me graduating, it was about the queen changing the law. The queen had revealed, only a week ago that she would be making a very important declaration at the dhampir graduation.

She was going to make the announcement after I got my promise mark. Females were now going to be accepted into dhampirs academies. It took perhaps five minutes after Dimitri and I found out, for me to get a phone call from Viktoria squealing about how she was going to become a guardian. Dimitri was awful at keeping secrets and Viktoria was the first person he told. I was happy she knew. She would make a great guardian.

After graduation, me and Dimitri would be taking another vacation to Russia, this time, hopefully Olena would welcome us more warmly. Apparently Dimitri had told her about how I saved him from Natalie and she wanted to thank me in person. I wasn't sure if that was some kind of code name for something, but I was hopeful that she was growing more comfortable with the idea of me and Dimitri as a couple.

We would be there for two weeks, arriving back just in time for me to be assigned my guardian placement. I was hoping that queen Tatiana would honor my wishes and pair me with Lissa.

Tasha was locked up in Tarasov prison. I had heard horror stories about that prison and as angry as I was with Tasha, I hoped she would be okay in there. Attempted murder of the queen warranted life in prison. If she had succeeded, she would have been executed. For Christian's sake, I was grateful that that didn't happen.

The ceremony passed in a haze. My classmate's names were called and they received their promise marks. I almost laughed when Eddie's name was called. Eddie had killed four strigoi the night of the attack and the tattoo artist frowned as if trying to figure out how he was going to work the promise mark in there. Usually when a novice receives a promise mark, their necks are bare. If he was having difficulty with Eddie, he going to have a heart attack when it was my turn. My neck was practically covered in tiny molnija marks and a little star that was their way of saying they weren't sure exactly how many strigoi I had killed.

All of my male classmates were called before me. I hadn't made it a secret that I was a girl. I also hadn't offered any explanations. I had just showed up for class one day in a work-out outfit that Abe had let me buy on my little... well maybe not so little, shopping spree. I can't even put into words how excited I was to wear girly clothes again and put on make-up.

I knew that my classmates were shocked when I walked in, but Eddie and Christian made it clear that no one was getting through to me. While I hated feeling weak, like I needed protection, I was grateful for their help. After I made it clear that I was still the same dhampir that they had wrestled with, and lost to I might add, they lightened up and welcomed me back as if I were still Robert Hemmingway.

I cheered like anyone else as my classmate's names were called. Though I will admit that I behaved fairly childishly and refused to clap when Dean graduated. He didn't deserve my cheers. The ceremony had to have lasted a couple of hours, but I felt as if it flew by. I was standing the entire time, but I didn't mind. After everything I've been through, including passing my trials, I could handle standing a few hours.

When my name was finally called, the entire hall went silent. Aside from the students, most of the quests hadn't known that there was a female dhampir in the sea of graduates. And most moroi hadn't taken the time to check, so this came as a shock to them. I internally cursed the queen for assigning me a seat in the very back of the room. I stood up and made my way down the long hall. I was probably overreacting, but I could feel eyes boring into my back. I was the reason so many moroi were here. It was unprecedented to have moroi even attend this ceremony.

I was relieved when I finally reached the little makeshift stage. I had to sit down and I heard the tattoo artist's breath hitch as he considered my neck. I could practically hear his thoughts as he tried to figure out his way around this dilemma. Finally, he decided to loop it around two molnija marks. When they announced my trial scores, even my jaw dropped. I had the highest scores in my class, which I had been expecting, but I wasn't expecting them to be that high.

The queen walked up onto the stage to shake my hand. Then she turned to the entire hall. "I present to you Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway, the first female guardian," Tatiana said loud and clear. "Thanks to Guardian Hathaway's actions, I have learned that it isn't one's gender that makes them a guardian, it's their determination to protect moroi. So, from this day forth, female dhampirs can enroll in academies to become guardians."

The applause as I walked off the stage was tumultuous. I am not ashamed to admit that I nearly teared up when one by one, my classmates, then the guardians and then the moroi stood up. I had never in my life received a standing ovation. I had never thought about it. But in that moment, I understood the significant meaning behind one.

Over the roar of applause, I could hear Headmaster Kirova congratulate the dhampirs class. If possible, the cheers got louder.

When I finally reached the back of the hall, Dimitri was waiting for me. He welcomed me with a hug and a kiss. When I broke apart, I looked out at all my classmates. Classmates that were finally able to see me for the real me. I had never been happier in my life, never been more excited. I had finally made my own life.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think. Comments are always welcome to help my writing improve!


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